Inverted
by PimpedOutToast
Summary: AU. In the Shattered Shaft, Ichigo's Hollow Power dominates his Soul Reaper power, leaving him a hollow with a Soul Reaper's blade instead of a Soul Reaper with a Hollow's mask. Spoilers for the Thousand Year Blood War arc, don't read if you aren't caught up. No pairings as of yet.
1. Bad Ending in the Shattered Shaft?

**Inverted**

Chapter 1

Bad Ending in the Shattered Shaft?

"Can you hear me, Ichigo?"

Ichigo, sitting on a sideways building, turned around and saw a man in a flowing black cloak.

"Who…Are you?"

"'Who am I?' What are you talking about? It's me _."

"Huh?"

"You still can't hear me? That's sad. How many times do I have to repeat it so that you'll hear me?"

The man stepped to the side of his pole.

"And here I was thinking nobody in this world knows me better than you.

"What're you talkin' about? Sorry but I don't know anyone so gloomy like-!"

Ichigo realized how the man was defying gravity.

"How did you do that?!"

"I'm so surprised; how can you sit in a place like that?"

Ichigo then noticed he was sitting on a building's window and started falling with a scream.

**"Ha! You can still scream, ain't that somethin'?"**

This voice was higher pitched and came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

Upon hearing the voice, the old man frowned.

"Soul reapers control death, you have no reason to be afraid, Ichigo."

"I'm not a soul reaper right now!" Ichigo screamed.

"If you can control the spirits that are flying around and fix them under your feet, you may stand on them. Hurry and remember, Ichigo. When you were a Soul Reaper, there must have been some time when you stopped in the air unknowingly."

It hit Ichigo that he *had* done such a thing before.

"Try to feel it; in order to destroy Byakuya Kuchiki's Zanpakto… the only way to do that is to use the power you've attained from Rukia Kuchiki!"

"What?"

"Of course he only aimed for that when he attacked you; he thought that if he destroyed that power, everything would be resolved. He was careless."

**"He didn't know ya had yer' own Soul Reaper power, partner!"**

The voice again, this time followed by a somewhat hysterical laugh.

"My own…? Who are you?"

**"I am who I am, Partner. Your power was just woken up by Rukia's; you had yer own power way before Byakuya attacked ya! Ain't that right, Old Man?"**

The old man nodded reluctantly, unhappy to agree with the other voice.

"Find it, Ichigo. This world is beginning to decay; now is the time!"

Boxes fell around them, the buildings transforming into them more and more.

"One of these boxes contains your Soul Reaper power. Go and find it!"

**"Clocks tickin' partner!"**

"You're talking nonsense! There's no way I can-!"

**"Shut up and get to it! Ya don't have th' time to sit here whinin' partner!"**

"He is correct; time is of the essence."

Ichigo fell into blackness with a loud "splash".

'What should I do? I've always lacked a sense to notice spiritual pressure. I think Uryuu said that before… Wait… Uryuu… That guy who asked me why I became a Soul Reaper… There's an easy way to find the power of a Soul Reaper I think… That guy boasted about something… what was it?'

Ichigo forced himself to think hard until he came up with the answer.

"That's it!"

With a thought ribbons appeared from the boxes, and Ichigo did his best to try and find one with a red ribbon.

He eventually succeeded and pulled it; the box opened to reveal a sword's hilt.

"You found it. Now I can let you know my name."

**"Our name," **corrected the second voice with a growl.

The old man frowned.

"Both of you are…?"

Ichigo paused to ponder this thought; two swords? Was that even possible?

"What are you doing?! Pull the sword out! The world is collaps-!"

The man vanished and everything went dark.

However, Ichigo still had a hand on the hilt.

**"Too slow, partner. Y'know yer' lucky."**

A white version of him with oddly colored eyes approached in the darkness, walking on what seemed to be air.

"Who are you?"

**"I am who I am, partner. For the sake of discussion, I'm half of yer power. Well… Half is an understatement now."**

The being grabbed Ichigo's arm and firmly pulled, dragging the sword out the rest of the way.

**"You're a hollow, but yer' not at the same time. Let's just say I'm…Special. Get back out there. And don't die; if you die then I'll have t' become the King of this world."**

Ichigo woke up and found himself bound in all sorts of strange bindings. He growled and forced against them, tearing them apart before leaping out of the pit in a burst of power.

He landed nearby in a cloud of dust.

"Oi! Kid, is it you?" yelled Jinta. "Hurry up and answer!"

Two bright yellow diamonds glowed in the smoke.

"If you're still alive, then answer me-!"

When the smoke cleared a strange being stood before them.

It appeared as a hollow with orange hair that went down to its shoulders with white skin and gray tufts of fur on its wrists and ankles with clawed hands and three toed talons for feet along with a large tail and a mask with three red stripes on the top left portion. However there were a couple of odd things about it.

First of all, it wore the uniform of a Soul Reaper, albeit larger in size and a white color with a black undershirt and tie around the waist instead of a standard coloration. Second was a loop around the torso with a large sheathe with a hilt and guard sticking out of the top end; a Zanpakto.

"It looks like a hollow but… It's got a uniform that's sorta like a soul reaper's and a sword!"

Ichigo drew his blade and the kids readied themselves for a fight. However, Ichigo just looked at the damaged stump of a sword.

Urahara stepped forward, sword drawn.

"Ichigo, is that you?"

There was a long moment of silence before he got a reply.

"Yeah. I think so."

"You think? Can you explain why you look like a hollow?"

"According to one of the guys in my head I am… and I'm not."

'One of the guys in his…? Could he have TWO sword spirits? If that's the case, where's his second blade?'

"Did they tell you their names, Ichigo?"

"They said they have the same name, but when one of them tried to tell me the name, I couldn't hear it. He seemed disappointed that I couldn't; one was an old man in a black cloak and the other was a white version of me with weird eyes. The man in black vanished though when the white guy came and told me I'd become a hollow and hadn't at the same time."

Ichigo looked down at his clawed hands. It was… odd, but his overall appearance didn't feel that different. He noticed a protrusion on his lower back and looked over his shoulder, spotting his tail.

'That's different.'

**"An extra limb to fight with, partner. Bein' a hollow confers ya with plenty of cool advantages, and I'll teach em' all to ya eventually, when y' need em and can prove yerself worthy. But first thin's first; ya gotta know our name. Can ya hear me? It's _"**

'Sorry…I can't yet.'

**"Damn. Yer gonna eventually. When ya do we'll be ready to fight like we should!"**

'Good. I'll need everything I can get to save Rukia. That's what matters right now.'

"I see…"

Urahara pondered this for a second.

'This has to be…'

Realizing what this meant, he sheathed his blade and opened his fan.

"You're still a soul reaper in some senses, more than hollow at least in terms of power, so you get a pass!"

Ichigo growled and whacked Urahara in the face with the bottom of the hilt of the broken blade.

"Shut up! Since I came back alive in one way or another you'll be dead! I'm gonna kill you! It's probably cause of somethin' you did that I turned out like this instead of just being one or the other!"

"Oh? That's okay. With your attitude at the moment we can go right to the third test. There's no time limits; use your sword to knock off my hat and you win!"

Ichigo dashed forward and brought the blade down, leaving a small cut in Urahara's hat.

"Not bad for having a broken blade," Urahara said. 'And for being primarily a hollow.'

He didn't dare say that second part.

"Even a broken sword has that much power."

"When I get serious it'll be even better!" declared Ichigo. "I'll only need 5 minutes to win this!"

"Is that so?" Urahara brandished his blade again. "I'll give you five minutes then. Good luck."

Urahara went at Ichigo, who backed away to dodge several strikes.

"You're pretty good with that tiny-ass sword," noted Ichigo.

"Thanks for the compliment! I feel embarrassed. However I will not go easy on you because of that!"

It turned into a full on chase, with Ichigo running at full speed.

'Hang on a minute, the only way to kill hollows OR soul reapers is to use Zanpakto! That sword came out of his cane, so there's no way that's a Zanpakto! If that's the case, nothing will happen if I'm hit by-!'

A small portion of the top left corner of his mask went flying and Ichigo's head started to bleed.

The mask slowly repaired itself (although Ichigo didn't even realize this).

"You seem too relaxed," said Urahara. "'He's not a Soul Reaper so he can't have a Zanpakto. He can't hit me.' That's what you thought, right? You are so naive."

He raised his blade.

"Scream, Benihime."

The blade changed shape instantly.

"This is a real Zanpakto."

"Zanpakto's…names…"

"Yep, every Zanpakto has its own name. This is Benihime."

Urahara let loose a blast of red energy and Ichigo jumped back.

Urahara then charged and Ichigo blocked with his blade.

**"Yer still fightin' like a Soul Reaper, partner. Don't forget that ain't all ya are."**

'A little busy right-!"

"You blocked with that broken sword instead of running; you've got guts kid. However… in that state, there's no way that stump of a blade can block mine."

Ichigo's blade was cut and he swiftly moved to the side and twisted to dodge a slice.

'This is bad…'

Ichigo turned tail and ran.

'How could he just cut my sword like it was nothing?!'

"You don't get it do you? Your strength is only a little bit greater. You power didn't solidify, only bloated up into the shape of a blade. That's why I can break it so easily."

With one stroke the handle was all that was left of the blade in Ichigo's hands.

"Now you're sword's gone. What're you gonna do Ichigo? You still gonna use it to beat me? You just gotta knock off my hat; can you do it with just the hilt?"

Urahara frowned.

"If you try to fight me with that, I'll have to kill you."

Ichigo turned and ran.

'Shit, I'm really going to die!'

Urahara appeared in a blur and Ichigo barely dodged a strike.

'This is pathetic.'

Ichigo turned and ran.

'Why am I running?'

Urahara grabbed the back of his uniform's collar and pulled.

'Is this all I have?'

Ichigo tumbled to the ground and just barely managed to roll to dodge a blow, almost losing his tail in the process.

'I'm pathetic.'

Ichigo got up and scampered away.

'Pathetic…'

He tripped.

'PATHETIC!'

Suddenly the white "him" appeared in front of him.

**"Hey there, partner."**

"You…"

**"Why'd you run away, partner? Why haven't you called my name yet?"**

The being smirked.

**"Look forward partner. You should be able to hear me now. The thing that covered up yer ears was fear, partner. There's only one o' him and one a' you. What're ya scared of? Forget your fear, look forward. Walk forward and never stop. If you run you will grow old, if you fear you're gonna die! Say my name, ICHIGO! MY NAME IS…!"**

Ichigo stopped running and grabbed the hilt of the sword, slamming the broken end into the palm of his other hand and building up power.

"ZANGETSU!"

Power exploded outward, kicking up more dust.

When it settled, Ichigo stood with a large blade that resembled a knife, tip in the ground and crouching next to it.

Ichigo stood and looked at the new blade.

"Since you've gotten your Zanpakto, let's officially start test three!" exclaimed Urahara joyfully.

"Urahara, you might want to dodge this."

"Huh?"

"I can't control this power yet!"

The leftover seal burst off of Ichigo's shoulder.

He raised the blade.

"Cry, Benihime!"

Ichigo brought the blade down and a wave of power flew towards Urahara.

The hat lost a large portion of itself and went flying.

"If I hadn't have used my Blood Mist Shield I would have lost an arm," commented Urahara.

He walked over and picked up his hat, dusting it off.

"I do believe you've killed my hat. I honestly didn't expect one swing to be that strong. You're pretty scary, Ichigo. Congrats, you've passed test 3!"

* * *

Through some miracle Ichigo was able to renter his body without any sort of trouble.

Some time passed before Zangetsu spoke to him again.

**"Partner, we need t' talk. Seein' as yer' mostly hollow ya gotta focus on getting' stronger there along with yer sword. Leave yer body with kon; we're goin to get stronger fer a week before we leave t' rescue yer friend."**

'How do I do that? Is there some sort of special training I need?'

**"You could say that."**

* * *

'Special training my ass! You're trying to get me killed, aren't you Zangetsu?!'

**"This is how hollows evolve, Ichigo! They eat one another until they evolve and become stronger! If you reach Adhudjas stage you could definitely take Byakuya down! You want to save Rukia, right partner?"**

Ichigo growled as he avoided another blow from the hollow he was fighting. He'd learned after a couple of mishaps where he'd tried to kill them with his sword that he'd have to kill them as a hollow, not a soul reaper, and feast on their remains to gain their power. Zangetsu had explained that unlike a normal hollow, who would have to contend with the souls he'd devoured, Ichigo had the benefit of having someone else in his head to quell the voices and hasten the evolution by skipping the portion where he would normally have to forcibly silence the voices all on his own lest he lose himself to them.

Zangetsu had explained about Hollow Evolution, how they started as normal hollow then some evolved into Menos like the one he'd seen back in Karakura, which were known as Gillian. Then after they ate enough of their fellow Gillian, they became Adhudjas, where they regained a less titanic body and usually more intelligence (but that Ichigo wouldn't have to worry about becoming a big dumb oaf again because of Zangetsu), and then finally Vasto Lordes, the most powerful type of hollow, who were very human-like and the smallest but most powerful of all hollow, but very few Adhudjas lived long enough to reach that level or simply could not, as Ichigo had learned from his couple of days in this place, this "Hueco Mundo".

Zangetsu had also given him lessons in focusing his Spiritual Pressure so that he wasn't spewing it everywhere all of the time and even on the sensing of said pressure. It had saved his life more than once in this hellhole. Knowing where the enemy was and them not being able to tell where you were was a huge advantage he'd found.

Ichigo managed to dodge a strike from the hollow he was fighting and pin it down, biting into it and gagging on the acidic taste. The being disintegrated into nothing.

'So Zangetsu, how do you know so much about hollows?'

**"I don't know. It's just instinct I suppose. I'm your true instinct, Ichigo. Never forget that. Don't stop to analyze every battle; if you've noticed your responses here have been more instinctual than trained."**

'So this WAS training!'

**"Glad you worked that out. Don't think that means you can start overanalyzing your fights again though! That'll just get you killed, and if you go I go, and I don't want to die just yet partner."**

Ichigo nodded. He could feel the power coursing through him.

**"Okay partner, it's gonna get dangerous, but I figure you're tough enough stuff to handle it, and if you ain't then just slay them with your sword. You're goin' to kill a Gillian."**

Ichigo swallowed but nodded; his sword had yet to lead him wrong.

He focused and sensed immense power beneath him and to the North (he assumed, it was impossible to tell in Hueco Mundo).

"Down? How…?"

**"Trust yer senses partner, yer instincts."**

Ichigo ran off and eventually came across what appeared to be a large forest.

**"What're ya waitin' for? Jump in there partner!"**

Ichigo steeled himself and hopped in, leaping from branch to branch until he reached the bottom.

However, Ichigo was met not by a hollow but by a soul reaper with fur and a hollow's mask over his face.

Ichigo swiftly drew his own blade and blocked.

"A hollow with a Zanpakto and Soul Reaper uniform, albeit discolored. Did you get that from a Soul Reaper you killed, Menos?"

"Menos? I don't think I'm a Menos yet. And this isn't something I stole, I'd never do something like that, idiot! I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and this is my sword, Zangetsu!"

He pushed back and sent the mysterious masked soul reaper flying backwards.

"How can that be?"

"I don't know. My Zanpakto Spirit told me that I'm both a hollow and not a hollow. I'm trying to save my friend who's in danger, but I need more power to do it. I'm taking advantage of some time I have to power up my Hollow powers and evolve into an Adhudjas or somethin' like that so I'll be strong enough to beat the guy I need to beat."

"Is your friend also a hollow?"

"No. She's a Soul Reaper. She gave me my soul reaper powers originally, or at least that's what I thought."

Ichigo explained his situation to the man.

"I see. Come with me."

The two headed to a small cave.

"Now that we're safe, it is only fair I tell you of my past."

The man, who revealed himself to be Kano Ashido, explained how he'd gotten stuck in Hueco Mundo and why he'd stayed.

"That's horrible. I'm sorry to hear you're stuck here, Kano."

"I'll be fine. I was unaware such happenings were commonplace in the Soul Society now; I am somewhat glad that I am here. Politics are always a hassle regardless. Good luck in rescuing your friend, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo took his leave and charged a Gillian

* * *

**"I underestimated you partner! That was 4 Gillian class hollow! Y'know you should be about ready to evolve I think… wonder why you haven't?"**

'Think it's cause I'm still a Soul Reaper?'

**"Nah. Well maybe, I dunno Partner. I think we should find an Adhudjas. Which means we go back up."**

Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed, but leapt up and up.

**"Ya need faster movement, partner. Time for me t' teach you your first hollow technique; Sonido. To use it ya focus yer spiritual pressure into yer feet and then push it out under you and move in th' direction ya wanna go. Instant speed boost!"**

Ichigo did as instructed and instantly bolted upward.

"WOAH!"

Ichigo used this new power to reach the surface and dart across the desert.

He soon sensed a presence that was nearly as strong as he was.

**"Seems like a newly evolved Adhudjas,"** Zangetsu commented. **"Go get im' partner!"**

Ichigo sped off and saw the hollow, tackling the beast with full force and biting into its neck before it even knew what hit it.

Suddenly Ichigo felt a huge rush of power, then pain as his skin began to crack all over. He let out a roar of agony as his Evolution commenced.

When it was all over he stood a bit taller instead of being so hunched over. His tail was gone, and the fur on his wrists and ankles was a vivid red. His hair was down to his mid back now, and his mask had created a dome over his head. He had spikes coming from his shoulders that jutted through his uniform, and his mask now had several red stripes along the left half instead of just the 3 from before. Other than that nothing had changed.

"Incredible…"

**"You've got your power now. You should probably get back t' yer friends; it's about time fer ya t' head to Soul Society with em'."**

'How do you know that?'

**"I've been keepin' track of time."**

'If you say-!'

Suddenly he felt an immense power nearby, one that actually made him struggle to breathe properly.

It was quickly getting closer.

Ichigo tried to move but the power was getting denser.

"What's… going on?!"

**"Whatever that is, its spiritual pressure is way over our head partner. It's pinning us, crushing us!"**

"What do I do, Zangetsu?!"

**"Hope whatever it is ain't here to eat you."**

"Sounds unlikely."

Before long he spotted the figure, who stopped on a dune next to him.

It had the lower body of some sort of hooved animal, with 4 legs in a centaur-like appearance. Its upper body was unmistakably female, with two large mounds on the chest, covered with a fur similar to the lower body, with a large tuft over the chest. It wore a large mask with two long horns and eyeholes that showed two surprisingly human eyes. There were also bony plates on the shoulders and forearms.

"What are you doing trespassing in my territory, Adhudjas?"

"Tresspassing? Your territory? Sorry, I didn't know…"

She noticed the blade on his back.

"Why do you have a Soul Reaper's weapon?!"

She raised a hand and started charging a Cero.

**"Tell her the truth, partner. She doesn't seem like she wants to kill us to kill us; she must be a Vasto Lorde, which means she no longer needs to feed and has finished her evolution, and she's not just some mindless beast."**

"It's…Complicated. Do you have some time?"

The hollow nodded, but didn't move her hand.

Ichigo explained his situation to the hollow, who he was, and expressing the urgency required of him at the moment as well.

The hollow lowered her arm and dissipated the Cero.

"I see. You must have just evolved right? It's dangerous; come with me, Ichigo."

Ichigo did as instructed, and soon the two arrived at some form of rocky area, and entered a cave.

"Is this your home?"

The hollow nodded.

"It is. I've secluded myself rather well for a number of reasons; first and foremost is that female hollows tend to get attacked more than males. Being alone, I risk being attacked by multiple hollows at once. I'm strong, but against a group of enemies I'm likely to be killed. Second, I don't enjoy fighting. I'd rather just be left alone."

Ichigo thought for a moment.

"Why don't you come back to the World of The Living with me then? I know a guy who might be able to give you a place to stay. You don't need to eat hollows anymore, right?"

"That would never work; soul Society would try to hunt me down."

"Hm…" He thought for a moment. "What if you took off your mask? Would you be more passable for a human or soul reaper then?"

The hollow was jarred by the comment.

"What?"

"I could never do that; do you know what a hollow's mask does? It protects our memories, who we used to be. A hollow without its mask…"

"Oh… Sorry… I didn't mean to upset you… Wait, I never got your name, what is it if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. And it's fine, you didn't know any better."

"My sword spirit once told me something though: If you fear you're going to die. You seem alright, not like all the other Hollows I've encountered; I don't really want you to die, even though I've just met you."

Nelliel grabbed her right arm with her left hand uneasily, the prospect of losing her mask somewhat scary to her.

"Sorry again…"

"Maybe you're right."

"Huh?"

"I don't think I want to be here any longer. I'll try it."

Ichigo nodded.

Nelliel took a deep breath and reached up to her mask, starting at the lower left corner, and pulled hard, the mask cracking and part of it shattering.

She let out a pained cry and a surge of energy flowed out of her, kicking up dust and making a vortex around her.

Ichigo covered his eyes.

When the smoke cleared what appeared to be a very human female with a bony mask fragment on her head and a sword in front of her was left.

She was also naked.

Ichigo panicked and covered his eyes, flustered.

Nelliel groaned and looked up at him.

"What's wrong? Did… What happened to me? Is it how I look?"

"Y-y-you're NAKED!"

"Naked…?"

She looked down at her new form and blushed, experiencing the emotion of embarrassment for the first time since she became a hollow.

She quickly tried to find something, anything to cover herself and managed to dig up some rags she'd had lying around for some reason and create makeshift clothing out of them.

"Th-there, that's much better."

She picked up her sword and looked at it, unsheathing it and admiring the blade and handguard.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief but then became curious.

"What happened? Why do you look like a normal human? Where'd that sword come from?"

"I…Don't know. Its name is… Gamuza."

"Wait… it has a name? Is that a Zanpakto?!"

**"Hold on a… She's not a normal human, she's a soul reaper! She's part soul reaper!"**

'How!?'

**"No idea, Partner, but y'gotta admit she's not sore on the eyes!"**

Zangetsu let out a loud and maniacal laugh.

Ichigo looked away and frowned under his mask, slightly blushing. His hollow wasn't wrong, she did have some level of attractiveness to her, but it was physical and Ichigo wasn't about to give in to those thoughts, especially when he needed to go save Rukia. No time for those kinds of thoughts.

"Let's go then, Nelliel. I'll drop you off at Urahara's and he'll take care of you from there."

Ichigo turned and tapped the air, opening a Gargantua.

Nel sheathed her sword and nodded, and the two headed through and eventually wound up in Urahara's basement.

"Oh Ichigo, you're back! And you've gotten stronger! And you look different!"

He noted Nel's presence.

"And you have a beautiful woman with you! Ichigo you sly dog!"

Urahara started laughing before Ichigo went over and hit him in the face.

"Shut up! We met in Las Noches and I convinced her to remove her mask and she became this! I wanted to help her since she didn't like fighting! I want you to take care of her, sorta give her somewhere to stay I guess."

"Why doesn't she just stay in your closet like Ru-!"

Ichigo grabbed Urahara by the throat.

"Don't even joke about that. Understand? It may have been weird, it may have been annoying, but it was part of our friendship, something special we had, do you understand?"

He released Urahara, who rubbed his neck.

"I got you. Sorry, Ichigo, didn't mean to strike a nerve. I'll see what I can do."

"Wait," Nel said.

"What is it?" asked Ichigo.

"Let me come with you to save your friend. It's the least I can do after you helped me."

"You sure? We're going to Soul Society. You're a hollow. It's dangerous for you."

"I can handle myself, don't worry about me," Nel reassured.

"If you say so."

Ichigo turned back to Urahara.

"Hat n' clogs, when's everyone else going to be here?"

Ichigo noticed a large bandaged frame.

"And what's that thing?"

"That's how you and your friends are gonna get to Soul Society. They should be here just about…"

Ichigo sensed them.

'Crap, they don't know about…this.'

**"Explain it to them. The Quincy might not be happy with it but as long as they know you're still you there shouldn't be an issue."**

'I hope you're right Zangetsu.'

"I'll go fetch them now~!"

Urahara went upstairs and soon returned with the group.

They froze when they saw Ichigo and Nelliel.

"Kurosaki…?" Uryuu asked.

"Yeah. It's a long story. Will you guys listen?"

The three hesitantly nodded.

Ichigo sighed and explained everything up to that point to them.

"So you're saying that this person is a hollow who removed her own mask?" Uryuu questioned.

"Yeah. She's got a Zanpakto too. Weird, right?"

Uryuu mumbled something and Orihime went over to make conversation with Nel, the two both seeming to actually hit it off well after a bit of hesitancy from Orihime.

"This doesn't change anything, right Ichigo?" asked Chad.

"No, not a thing. We go in, get Rukia, and get out. With this power it should be easy."

Ichigo flexed a hand, noting red flame-like stripes on his arms and the black claws on his fingertips.

'It had better be.'

* * *

**A/N: Seeing as I value at least some canon consistency, I'm waiting to update Unholy Perfection until the Manga progresses more. In the meantime, I intend to work on this. If you've read this chapter, then you can tell what this is I think. If not, you can keep reading and find out. This is something I figured I'd dabble in since every other story I've seen with something similar has either been too short or simply not to my liking. No, Ichigo isn't an Arrancar. No, he isn't going to join Aizen. Will there be pairings? Potentially, we'll see. Anyways, I'm not going to waste any more of your time, read and review or don't, up to you.**


	2. Soul Society

Chapter 2

Soul Society

The group headed over to the massive gate.

"Usually the way to Soul Society is opened via a Senkaimon. However, only Souls may enter Soul Society. The only beings here who are souls are Ichigo and his new acquaintance…"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

Urahara nodded.

"The rest of you aren't. Even if you were removed from your body, you'd still be connected by your Chains of Fate and be slowed. However, with this you'll be converted into Spirits and thus can travel to Soul Society!"

"Alright, I got it."

Ichigo started walking forward.

"Let's go in the- OH SHIT!"

Urahara slammed the bottom of his cane into Ichigo's side.

"Now is the important topic! That's right! There's no problem with going through this door. It won't hurt or anything, and as long as you go forward you can go to the Soul Society."

Urahara raised a finger.

"The problem is time. The time allowed to go through the passage to Soul Society is only four minutes! Once the time is up the door will close and you guys will be forever locked within the Precipice World. Plus, inside of it, there's a current called Kouryuu which can stop souls from moving, to prevent enemies of the Soul Society such as hollows from getting in. Just one foot caught by it and the chance of leaving in time is almost impossible."

"Then what should we do?" asked Orihime.

"Just walk forward."

A black cat walked up to them.

"Yoruichi!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Didn't I tell you? The heart and soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks. Only those who can do it may follow me."

"What are you talking about?" started Ichigo. "Those who chose to gather here have made the decision and are determined to follow it!"

"You should know very well, if you lose then you will never return," the cat said matter-of-factly.

"So then we're just gonna have to win. We don't really have a choice either way."

"…Well said!"

Tessai appeared with folded cloth.

"Ichigo, Nelliel, I suggest you both wear these. These cloaks will cover you and keep you from being immediately identified as hollows, or anything similar to a hollow."

They both took one of the brown cloaks and put them on. They had hoods that covered their heads as well as covering most of them. Ichigo made sure his hood covered his face in shadow for extra effect, letting his new longer hair flow over his shoulders out of the hood.

Urahara and Tessai then put their hands down next to the bottom corners of the bandaged frame and energy burst forth.

"Are you ready? The moment it's opened, you guys will dash in there."

"Got it," said Ichigo. "Let's go!"

The group sped into the portal and were in awe of their surroundings.

"Don't just stand there daydreaming, run! The Cleaner will close in!" Yelled the black cat.

The group ran as fast as they could, Ichigo and Nel leading the pack.

However, they were just barely fast enough.

"It's catching up!" yelled Uryuu. "The places we've been through are collapsing!"

"If you have time to look back, run faster! If you get caught it's all over!" yelled Yoruichi.

Suddenly the thing chasing them caught Uryuu's cape.

"Idiot! It's because of your stupid outfit!" Ichigo yelled, reaching for his blade.

"Don't use your Zanpakto! If you use it you won't be able to escape!" yelled the black cat.

'Fuck this,' Ichigo growled and vanished with a low hum, ripping Uryuu's cape off with his claws and throwing him over his shoulder before doing the same maneuver back to the front of the pack.

"Ichigo, what was that?"

"Sonido," Ichigo replied. "I'll explain later, right now we need to get out of here!"

"Put me down! I can run by myself, Kurosaki! Put me-!"

He went silent for a moment.

"Something is coming…"

Suddenly a wall of something none of them could identify with a glowing yellow "eye" appeared behind them like a train.

"What the hell is that?!" yelled Ichigo.

"That's the Cleaner! It comes out every 7 days, we just got unlucky!"

"Let's get out of here!" Ichigo yelled.

He looked forward.

"There's the exit!"

"It's over! It's almost caught up!" yelled Uryuu.

Ichigo looked over to Nel.

"Nel! Let's use Sonido and get everyone out now!"

She paused for a moment at the nickname but nodded and grabbed Orihime and surprisingly enough to everyone Chad while Ichigo grabbed Yoruichi and the two hollows blurred and reappeared outside of the gate with their companions in tow.

"Crap, we're gonna fall!" Ichigo yelled.

The jolt of exiting had caused them all to be thrown around.

Orihime pressed her fingers to her hairpins and summoned a shield that caught everyone, albeit some more gracefully than others.

"Is everyone alright?" Orihime asked.

A resounding groan proved that everyone was at least alive and mostly unharmed.

"I didn't think we'd be this pathetic… Totally unexpected," said the Quincy.

He pulled something out of his uniform: A cape.

"I didn't think I'd have to use the backup cape so soon."

"But it's great! Looks like no-one is hurt!" exclaimed Orihime.

"What's so good about that!"

Yoruichi rammed their forehead into Orihime's.

"We nearly died in there!"

"Oi, why do you have to be so angry," Ichigo said to the cat with a frown. "We made it out alive, and Orihime caught us with her shield."

"You don't seem to understand the current situation!"

"The smoke is clearing," noted Uryuu.

Ichigo looked around.

"This is the soul Society?"

"That's right," said Yoruichi. "This is the outskirts. The place where souls live when they first come here. It's outside the place where the Soul Reapers reside. This is the poorest and most-free area, but it's also holding the most souls."

"There's nobody here though," said Uryuu.

"The street over there isn't that different from the streets we live on," noted Ichigo. "That should be where the Soul Reapers are, right?"

Ichigo dashed off.

"Don't go near there you idiot! You'll die!" yelled the black cat.

"Huh?"

Suddenly several walls fell in front of Ichigo, nearly crushing him.

"Crap!"

"It's been so long," a voice said "Someone who wants to go through the wall without a pass. I finally have something to do."

Ichigo turned and saw a massive man, almost gorilla-like in appearance.

"I'll treat you well Kid!"

The man brought down a huge axe that hit right next to Ichigo.

"Bring it on. Attack from whatever angle you want."

"Who the hell is that guy?" asked Uryuu.

"That's Jidanbo, the guard of one of the four gates," explained Yoruichi.

"I guess we have to defeat this monster get in, right?" asked Uryuu.

"That's right, but it won't be a simple task. He's been a guardian for 300 years and nobody has ever passed him to enter the gate."

"Is he that strong?!"

"A swing from his axe will make you disappear from this world, so yes."

"How do we deal with him then?"

"This is all about having a strategy."

The cat looked to Ichigo.

"Ichigo, retreat! We'll come up with a plan!"

Chad and Orihime took off to help.

"Helloooo! Didn't you guys hear me! Come back!"

The giant brought down an axe and threw up a wall of rubble around himself and Ichigo.

"Only one swing and the ground surged," commented Uryuu, shocked.

"Your behavior sickens me. Are you from an uncivilized area? Listen! This city has rules. First, wash your hands when you return home. Second! No eating food that has fallen on the ground. Third, duels are always one-on-one. My first opponent will be this guy in the cloak with the orange hair. Before I'm finished with him, you all keep quiet and stay there. Since you're visitors you should follow the rules of the city."

"Orihime! Chad! Don't worry, I'll be fine. Stay there, don't try and pull anything."

"Ichigo, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying wait there, Orihime."

"What are you talking about?!" yelled Uryuu. "you've seen how strong he is! I don't care what you've learned or how strong you've gotten! He's not the type you can handle alone!"

"Geez you're so noisy, Uryuu."

"Can you fight?" said Chad.

"I'm pretty sure I can beat him, yeah."

"Pretty sure!? Do you know what kind of situation you're in?"

"So damn noisy," Ichigo murmured to himself. "I said don't worry, so don't worry. I'll handle this then we'll be on our way!"

The three humans went back over to Nel and Yoruichi.

"So can he handle this?" Uryuu asked Nel.

"He can. He could probably keep up with a weak captain right now."

Shock went across their faces.

"No way… he's that strong?"

Nel nodded.

X

Ichigo drew his blade.

"I'm ready; I don't recall asking you to wait for me though."

"Seems you're one of those uncivilized people as well. I wasted my time waiting for you…" the giant raised an axe and brought it down…

…And found it blocked by Ichigo's own blade.

"I wasn't ready yet. What you just did is by no means courteous."

A pause, then the large man burst into laughter.

"You're not bad! This is great! It's been a while since someone could block my axe! Now… I can use all of my strength!"

He raised his axe again.

"Good luck kid, until now there's only been three people who could block my axe, including you. But the ones that can block my second… There have been none!"

A second axe appeared and Ichigo brought up his blade again.

"TAKE THIS!"

He brought one down, which Ichigo easily blocked yet again.

"Great! You're still standing! I'm not finished yet though! Die! Juppon Jidanda Matsuri!"

The man brought down his right axe several times then attempted to cleave Ichigo in half horizontally.

When the smoke cleared Ichigo stood triumphant, blocking the blade.

"How… How can you still be standing?!"

The attack had cleaved away part of the barrier, so Ichigo's friends could once more see him.

"He's still standing!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Are you finished yet? If so… It's my turn!"

"No! It's still too early! I'm not done yet!"

The large gatekeeper pulled out a second axe.

He crossed his axes and then focused before raising them both over his head.

"TAKE THIS! MY FINAL ATTACK! BANZAI JIDANDA MATSURI!"

"Sorry. I'll have to destroy your axes," said Ichigo.

With a single swipe of his blade, he cut the axes' blades off.

The giant toppled over.

"What…happened?"

"What has Ichigo done…?" asked Uryuu.

"That giant got blasted away?" questioned Chad.

The giant jumped up at this.

"Phew! That was really dangerous! I got distracted for a second and found myself completely knocked down."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow under his mask.

"Did you really think you had defeated me? Don't be so silly! There's no chance that I would be defeated by a guy like you! That's why I hate these uncivilized ones! Hold on, right now I will use my… Axe…"

He noticed the stumps that were his axes.

"My axes?! Where are my axes?! My…Axes…"

He started crying.

"Wha…?'

"Broken?! They're broken! You broke my axes you bastard! It's all your fault!"

He slammed his hands into the ground like a child for a while, crying.

"Is…he crying now? What on earth..?" questioned Uryuu.

"Uh… Sorry for damaging your axes. I shouldn't have broken your axes…should I?" Apologized Ichigo.

"Y-You're such… A good guy! You are such a good guy! I am your foe… I lost the battle but you still care about me.. You are such a great guy! You have such a generous personality! On the contrary, what am I doing, crying like a baby because of some broken axes! I lost completely! Both as a fighter and as a man I was utterly defeated!"

He wiped away some tears.

"I've been the gatekeeper here for 300 years, I've never lost a fight. You are the first. I, Jidanbou, gran you permission to pass through this gate!"

"Are you serious?!" asked Ichigo.

"Are you sure you can allow our passage?" asked Nel.

"Your boss defeated me! A loser like me will not be able to stand in your way."

"Did you say boss?! What nonsense!" yelled Uryuu.

"Do you need to get so pissed off?" asked Ichigo.

"IS your name Kurosaki?" asked the giant man.

"Yeah. Kurosaki Ichigo."

"What a lovely name."

"That's none of your business! By no means is it a 'lovely' name!"

"Take care of yourself, Ichigo. I don't know why you want to go through this gate…" Jidanbou placed a hand on the door. "The warriors inside are all powerful guys!"

"I know. I'm pretty powerful myself though."

"I see. Then I shall open the gate. Don't be astonished; take a breath and rush inside."

The man lifted the gate and held it.

The group was in awe.

"Why aren't you going in? Is something wrong?"

The group then saw a man in Soul Reaper uniform with a white jacket over it and slit eyes with a grin on his face.

"Who is this guy?" Ichigo asked.

"Captain of the Third Division… Gin Ichimaru…"

"This ain't allowed," the man said.

With a movement too swift for any to follow, Gin cut off the Gatekeeper's arm.

"That's too bad. You're a gatekeeper. Openin' the door isn't your duty."

The gatekeeper cried out as blood sprayed.

The gate came down some but the keeper held it open still.

"Oh~, you can still hold the door even with one hand? No wonder you're one of the elites in the Soul Society. However, you still fail as the guardian."

"Because I Lost. The guardian opens the door when he loses. It's only natural!"

"What idiotic rules are you talking about? You misunderstood. Even when the guardian loses the guardian still may not open the door."

Ichigo was talking to Zangetsu during this exchange.

'Do you think we could fight him?'

**"No."**

'What do you mean 'no'?! Isn't that why I ate those disgusting things?! To get strong enough?'

**"Yes. But right now you're still 'young' by Adhudjas standards. You're weaker than him."**

'God dammit.'

**"Hey, you were the one who headed back so quickly, we could have stayed longer and gotten stronger."**

'I didn't have the time!'

**"Then we should go back and get stronger, Ichigo!"**

'I don't have the time! I need to save Rukia!"

**"There's at least 4 other people here who are doin' the same thing Ichigo! They know about your power, just tell em' you'll be back as soon as you can!"**

'But what if they need me?'

**"They'll be fine, partner. You're worryin' too much."**

"…Must be executed."

Ichigo noticed the captain about to strike down the guardian and leapt into action, vanishing in a blur and bringing his blade to block Gin's.

The two pushed away from one another.

Ichigo held out his blade to the captain.

"Just what do you think you're doin? We beat Jidanbou fair and square, and you just pop outta nowhere and start attacking!"

The lavender-haired man said nothing.

"Orihime. Please look after Jidanbou's arm."

"Okay!"

"Come on. If you're so eager to fight, then fight me. For attacking an unarmed opponent like that…"

Ichigo flared his power, throwing off his cloak which was caught by Nel.

"I'll r**ip you apart."**

The man smirked.

'A hollow with a reaper's blade? Could he be…?'

"You're such an interestin' guy. Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Not at all."

"STOP MESSING AROUND ICHIGO! LET'S RETREAT!"

"You go. I'm going to kill this bastard."

**"This is a bad idea, Ichigo. If you have to do this, I think it's time you learned your next Hollow power: Cero."**

'Cero? You mean like that thing the Meno- I mean Gillian fired back then?'

**"Yep. You're an Adhudjas, which means yours will be ****_much_**** more powerful. When the time comes do as I say, partner."**

'Alright. Will it help us beat him?'

**"I hope so," **mumbled Zangetsu.

'Ichigo?' Thought Gin. 'Orange colored hair, a sword as tall as he is… but he's a hollow? No, he's not a hollow, he has a sword like a soul reaper. Interestin'…'

"So you're Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"So you know me?"

"So… he does exist."

The man turned and started walking.

"Where're you going?!"

"If that's the case, then I definitely can't let you pass."

"Then why are you running? Going to throw that knife at me?"

"Kill em dead… Shinso."

The blade extended at high speed, right at Ichigo.

**"MOVE!"**

Ichigo vanished in a blur of Sonido and reappeared next to Gin.

**"Cero, now!"**

As if he knew it by heart, Ichigo raised three fingers and pointed them at Gin.

A ball of red energy appeared at the end.

Ichigo saw Gin's eyes widen a bit from their slit-like state.

"Cero."

There was a hum and a blast of red energy exploded out of Ichigo's hand, uncontrolled and massive in size.

Unprepared for the sheer force, Ichigo was blown back into Judanbou and the two were launched backwards outside of the gates.

"SHIT!"

Gin… had avoided the blast entirely.

He waved under the door as it closed.

"Bye bye~!"

"Ichigo… was that… A cero?" asked Uryuu.

"Yeah. I wasn't quite ready for it though I guess, first time using it.

"It was HUGE!"

"Well hat n clogs mentioned I had poor control of my spiritual pressure, which probably explains the damn size…"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head and stood, taking his cloak from Nel and putting it back on.

Suddenly the streets were filled with people.

"People…" started Uryuu.

"Who are they?" asked Ichigo. "Were they hiding all along?"

"Can't blame them," started Yoruichi. "Anyone that wasn't guided here by a soul reaper is considered an intruder. They're seen as trouble makers of the Soul Society. They were hiding because they were afraid."

"Are they…Dangerous?" asked Ichigo quietly.

"Well, they're showing themselves before us so probably not."

"Sorry! Pardon me, excuse me…" said a young voice from the crowd.

A young man burst through.

"It's me! Remember, the parakeet, Shibata?"

Ichigo and chad's eyes widened.

"Shibata?!" exclaimed chad in confusion.

* * *

While Orihime repaired Jidanbou's arm with some help from the people that had revealed themselves, Ichigo leaned up against a wall chatting with a man.

"A lot of Soul Reapers are jerks, but Jidanbou is from the Alley too. He's nice to us. We saw that fight with Gin Ichimaru for Jidanbou. You gotta be a nice guy too. Just a question; what was that technique you used, kido? And why's your uniform all white?"

"If I told you you'd probably retract your compliment."

"Eh?"

Ichigo sighed and explained himself carefully and calmly, and explained that no, he wasn't going to eat any of them, that he didn't need to because of his Soul Reaper powers serving to control that need and fulfill it. To his surprise the man didn't seem to care.

"You helped Jidanbou and fought a Captain of the Gotei 13, you're alright with me."

Ichigo nodded.

"Thanks."

* * *

Ichigo walked up to Orihime.

"Here," he offered her a drink by holding a cup up to her, but surprised her.

"Ah! Ichigo!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You should rest."

"It…It's okay, I'm almost done."

"You've been working for a while now though."

"Healing someone from here isn't my specialty but he's almost healed, look!"

"You keep saying 'almost', how much longer is that?"

"Uh… about 5 hours from now!"

"You're gonna pass out."

Several people from the Village they were in offered to help in Orihime's stead, so she and Ichigo started walking to the house they were staying in.

"Orihime, can we talk?"

"Sure, what's on your mind Ichigo?"

"Do I scare you? Upset you?"

He'd been meaning to have this talk for a while, but hadn't had the time. Her brother had become a hollow and nearly killed her; he was sure it was a very traumatic experience to her.

"W-what? Not at all, Ichigo!"

He pulled off his hood and looked at her.

"Look me in the eye and say that, Orihime."

She struggled but managed to do so.

"I..I'm not afraid of you."

Ichigo restrained a sigh of relief.

"Good."

He pulled his hood back up and the two entered the shack.

"Welcome back, Orihime," greeted Uryuu.

"Hey Uryuu!"

"Ah, everyone's here," started the black cat. "I want to discuss our plan for tonight and tomorrow. First… Once the door was opened, the security behind the door will dramatically increase."

"So then fighting the guardian for passage won't work anymore?" asked Uryuu.

"It was never a good idea in the first place," the cat stated bluntly. "Anyways, we won't be able to use the gate anymore."

"What about the others?" asked Chad.

"There are 10 days left anyway; we would be wasting a lot of time just going there," Yoruichi answered.

"then how are we going to…?" started Uryuu.

"Don't worry. We'll just go in without using the gate entrance," stated the cat.

"Wha…?"

"Elder, do you know where Kuukaku Shiba is?"

The old man widened his eyes.

"Can it be that you plan to go into the city with 'that'?!"

"Eh? What do you mea-!" Ichigo was cut off by a loud noise outside. "What the hell…?"

Suddenly the door fell inward with a man holding reigns… or what was left of them… on top of it.

"Who is that?!" yelled Uryuu.

"Someone broke in!" screamed Orihime.

A large boar appeared on said door.

"It's a wild pig!" yelled Ichigo.

"Ahh I got thrown off by my pig again," said a new voice. "Long time no see, old man!"

A man was standing with sunglasses and a bandana, speaking to the Elder.

"GANJU! IT'S YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GO BACK HOME!"

"It's just I haven't seen you in a while, so I came by but you're already kicking me out? You're scaring the guests, don't be so impolite."

"That's because of you!"

"Hold up…"

He noticed Ichigo.

"What?"

"What the… What's some punk-ass Soul Reaper doing in here?!"

Ichigo stood up and glared at the man.

"Yo, say something, I asked you a question! And take off that stupid hood, you're inside!"

Ichigo remained silent.

"Well?"

The man reached out to grab Ichigo's chin and Ichigo grabbed his wrist.

"I wouldn't. I'm a lot more than just a "punk-ass Soul Reaper'."

He removed his hood and stared at Ganju with glowing golden eyes.

"Now you see why I wear the hood."

"You're a hollow?! What's a hollow doin' here?!"

"I'm a soul reaper too you idiot! Can't you see my outfit and sword?! It's complicated, but I bet an idiot like you wouldn't listen to what I have to say anyway!"

Ichigo then promptly punched the man in the face, launching him across the room.

"Why the hell did you punch me you dandelion head?! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?! Huh?!"

Any sense of fear or concern was out the window; the man had become angry instead.

**"He is an idiot," **Zangetsu agreed.

"THAT'S MY LINE YOU PIG-RIDING BARBARIAN! SUDDENLY BARGING IN HERE, JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

Orihime was murmuring things to herself worriedly.

The elder sighed.

"Just as I thought…"

"What do you mean 'Just as I thought'?! Who is that Elder?!"

"What? You really don't know who I am? You sure are an ignorant Soul Reaper. Fine, I'll tell you."

"His name is…" started the Elder.

"MY NAME IS GANJU! SELF DECLARED CRIMSON BULLET OF THE WEST DISTRICT! SELF-DECLARED NUMBER ONE 'THE MAN THAT IS MOST WANTED TO BE CALLED THE BOSS OF THE WEST DISTRICT' FOR 14 YEARS! ALSO! SELF-DECLARED 'THE ONE WHO HATES SOUL REAPERS MOST IN THE WEST DISTRICT!"

Suddenly the man tackled Ichigo and launched him out of the shack.

"Ichigo!" yelled Uryuu and Orihime.

Nel crossed her arms and watched with a frown on her face.

'Why does he have to be so violent?'

Ichigo's older friends started to intervene but were blocked off by a group of other men.

"YOU BETTER LEAVE THIS PLACE," Ganju yelled to Ichigo. "AS LONG AS I'M ALIVE I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY SORT OF SOUL REAPER TO RESIDE IN THE WEST DISTRICT!"

Suddenly Ichigo kicked the man, sending him reeling.

"That's enough. You didn't even bother to hear me out like I said you wouldn't, you just go around hitting people. If you really wanted to fight me you still wouldn't be good enough to be my opponent."

"Punk! That's twice in a row that you've punched my handsome face!"

"That second one was a kick you idiot!"

"Ichigo, stop it! Don't waste energy on a useless fight!" commanded Yoruichi.

"He started it," Ichigo argued. "Tell him that."

"Soul Reaper!" started Ganju. "If you're not gonna leave, then it seems you and I are destined to fight!"

The man drew a sword.

"Ganju stop this at once! He's not a bad Soul Reaper!" yelled the Elder.

"Shut it! You should know very well Elder that a Soul Reaper is a Soul Reaper. There are no good or bad ones! I don't care if he's stolen a hollow's mask or rolled around in chalk or what, he's still a Soul Reaper!"

The man charged Ichigo.

"HERE I COME SOUL REAPER!"

Ichigo however, didn't actually have his sword on him at the moment.

"Oh no! Ichigo doesn't have his Zanpakto!" yelled Uryuu.

"I'll make a shield!" yelled Orihime.

Chat was about to throw the blade before a blur vanished and reappeared in front of Ichigo with sword drawn, blocking Ganju's blade.

"How shameful of you, to attack an unarmed opponent."

It was Nel.

"Both of you stop this nonsense at once."

She looked over her shoulder to Ichigo.

"We're here to save your friend Rukia, isn't that right? Yoruichi is right, we don't have time to waste fighting every random, violent stranger we come across."

She turned back to Ganju.

"And you," she began "shouldn't attack people who aren't doing any harm and are unarmed!"

"Are you a soul reaper too, woman?"

"No. I'm a hollow."

She slipped her hood back with one hand to reveal her mask fragment.

"And I'm more powerful than you could possibly hope of being. Luckily for you I don't like fighting. Stop this foolishness before I have to hurt you."

"Bad news boss!" yelled one of the henchmen as a loud alarm went off. "It's already 9 O'clock!"

"What?!"

Nel raised an eyebrow as Ganju sheathed his blade and turned in shock and horror.

"Oh no! Come on over pig!"

He whistled after saying so.

The pig leaped Ichigo and Nel and sent Ganju flying backwards.

Nel sheathed her sword and pulled up her hood.

Ganju got on his pig and looked back.

"I'll be back for you Dandelion-head! You and your girlfriend! Don't run away like cotton in the wind!"

Ichigo tensed up at the comment, pissed.

"What was that?! And she isn't my girlfriend!"

The group rode off on their pigs.

"They're all gone…"Ichigo said with a frown.

"Take it easy, Ichigo."

Uryuu patted his shoulder.

"Girlfriend?" questioned Nel, the word not something she had in her hollow vocabulary.

"Don't worry about i-!" Ichigo started before noticing Orihime and Nel talking to each other in hushed voices. "Just what exactly are you telling here, Orihime?!"

Ichigo sighed but focused back on the man who had escaped.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard!"


	3. Infiltration

Chapter 3

Infiltration

"What!? You aren't going?!" asked Uryuu in confusion.

Ichigo had just said he wasn't going to join them in finding Kuukaku.

"Nope. I'm gonna wait for that guy right here."

"What are you talking about?! Stop playing and hurry up!"

Uryuu was trying to drag Ichigo away kicking and screaming.

"I REFUSE! He would think I ran away!"

"So what?!"

Orihime peaked in.

"The rest of us are ready…"

"Perfect timing Orihime. Would you please help me convince this idiot to leave?"

Nel sighed and walked in.

"I'll handle this."

She gently thwacked Ichigo on the head with the sheathe of her sword.

"Ichigo, you're being stubborn. Nobody's going to think less of you for leaving other than him, and does he really matter that much?"

"Yes!"

"More than saving Rukia?"

"…No." Ichigo sighed and got up, still grumbling.

Nel changed her expression to a cheerful smile. "I'm glad you see what's really important, Ichigo!"

With that the group headed off.

* * *

After a while the group reached their destination.

Suddenly, two buff men leaped down from nowhere.

"Who are you?" said the first.

"Your clothes are really weird! One of you looks like a Soul Reaper!" Said the second.

"A bunch of suspicious people! We, Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko will definitely not let you pass!"

"Get out, or else you will die here!"

"Why are there guards again… this Soul Society is such a troublesome place."

Ichigo reached for his blade.

Suddenly one of them noticed the black cat with the group.

"Master Yoruichi!" exclaimed one of them.

* * *

The group headed down a long flight of stairs and arrived at a closed door. A voice came from the other side; "Is it Koganehiko?"

"Yes."

"Seems like there's a rare guest. Hurry and open the door! Don't be slow!"

"Yes! I will open it immediately!"

The doors opened to reveal a woman with black hair and a somewhat revealing outfit with a tattoo on her left arm and bandages over her right, which was missing from the lower-bicep down. She was resting on a pillow of some sort.

"Long time no see, Yoruichi."

"Ku…Kuukaku…" started Ichigo in shock.

"Is a WOMAN?!" finished Uryuu.

"Who're these kids and this woman?" asked Kuukaku.

"I came here to ask a favor today, Kuukaku," said Yoruichi.

"I thought so. Isn't it the same every time you visit?" asked the woman sitting across from them. "is it really complicated?"

"I think so," answered the cat.

"It's been a long time since we've had this kind of conversation," said Kuukaku. "Alright, tell me; I love complicated stuff.

Yoruichi explained the whole situation along with explaining Ichigo and Nel.

"I think I get it." The woman took a puff of her pipe. "Alright. I'll accept this job."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Since Urahara is a part of this I can't really refuse. However…"

She looked over her shoulder at the group, back facing them.

"Even though I trust you Yoruichi, that doesn't mean I trust those kids or that woman. I'll send one of my men with you just to make sure. No objections?"

"Of course not," said the black cat.

"Your man..?" asked Ichigo.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. He's just a punk though, so he's still not good enough."

She went over to a door.

"You ready?"

Mumbling came from the other door.

"I'm opening the door, be courteous!"

More mumbling.

The door slid open…

To reveal Ganju.

"Hello everyone! My name is Ganju Shiba! Pleased to meet you!"

Absolute silence.

"YOU!" both Ganju and Ichigo said at once.

"What? You guys know each other?" asked Kuukaku.

The two got face to face and growled, Ichigo's eyes glowing bright yellow.

"BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

Kuukaku hit them both over the head and Nel grabbed Ichigo's jacket and pulled him back, apologizing to Kuukaku for his behavior.

"What on earth got into you two?!" yelled Kuukaku. "You started fighting the minute you saw one another!"

"Ow… jumping out of nowhere with no warning… like brother like sister." Ichigo growled, rubbing his head.

"But Sis! He was the guy…!"

Ganju got a foot to the face.

Kuukaku then grabbed Ichigo's hair and pulled him until their foreheads were touching.

"Yo whatever you are! This is my home! If you don't like the way I run this place, you can get the hell out!"

"S-sorry…"

"Okay, as long as you get the point."

"Your sister is scary," Ichigo whispered to Ganju.

"She really is," he replied.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Follow me this way."

The group was lead to a huge room with a large pipe in the middle on a stone platform with some stairs.

"What's that?" asked Ichigo.

"I'm using this ting to send you into the Seireitei," said Kuukaku. "From the sky!"

"The sky?!"

"I'm Kuukaku Shiba, the first class fireworks master in this place!"

"Fireworks Technician?" asked Ichigo, confused.

"Yep." She looked up and yelled "Koganehiko! Shiruganehiko! Pull us up!"

Suddenly the floor started to move and the ceiling opened.

Soon they were above ground.

"So? You all amazed? This is my personal Fireworks Station."

"Kakaku cannon!" exclaimed Ganju.

He got a kick to the face.

"Who said you could come up here?!"

"This is no time to joke around!" yelled Uryuu. "I don't know what kind of technician you are, but shooting us with that thing?! It's impossible! We'll Die for su-!"

A ball hit Uryuu in the head, silencing him, and then bounced to Ichigo's hands.

"What's this thing?"

"It's a Spirit Core," explained Kuukaku. "Hold onto it and give it your Spiritual Energy."

Ichigo stared at the thing.

**"You heard the broad, do it!"**

'I think I forgot how.'

**"What?! But I taught you almost a week ago! How did you forget?!"**

'…'

"Uh… how do I do that exactly?"

"Huh…? Just focus your power on the palm like when you do using Kido. Soul Reapers use Kido, right?"

"Well… he's not an officially trained Soul Reaper," said Yoruichi. "He doesn't know any Kido."

"What?!"

"Wait, wait! I can use Cero! Yoruichi, would it be something like that?" asked Ichigo.

The cat turned to him with a deadpan expression.

"From what I saw you couldn't use it very well, it practically went off in your face. If you knew what you were doing it would be properly focused like a normal Menos Grande from what I know about hollows. So no, you couldn't, because you have no control."

"Oh…"

"No other way then," said Kuukaku. "Ganju, show em'!"

"Okay!"

Ganju went to take the sphere but Ichigo held it out of reach.

"Hey! Are you tryin' to pick a fight?"

"Yeah?! Come and get it if you can! I would rather die than let you teach me!"

Suddenly both were stricken down by Kuukaku again.

"BEHAVE YOURSELVES, PUNKS!"

"S…sorry…"

Ganju took the sphere and demonstrated the proper way of using it.

"What's that?!" asked Ichigo.

"This is the cannonball," explained Kuukaku.

"Cannonball…?" asked Uryuu.

"Listen up. If you think that the wall around the city is the only barrier, you're dead wrong. The wall is made by a special mineral that completely blocks out all Spiritual Energy. If you don't make a hole in that wall, you can't get in. More importantly, this mineral released a special spiritual energy wave from the cut surfaces. In other words, both above and underground, the city is covered by a sphere shaped protection field."

"Above and under?"

"Therefore, if we just fly in bluntly, our body, made out of spiritrons, will be turned to dust. That's why we need this!"

"Sis I can't keep it up…" said Ganju.

"Hold it!" commanded Kuukaku. "My invention here creates a specially hardened shell. By providing sprit energy to the core, you can create a cannonball strong enough to break through the protection field. I will then use the Kakaku Cannon to fire you up and break you in with one clean strike. It may sound crazy, but there's no other way. Any questions?"

"uh…I…" Ichigo started.

"Okay, meeting's over, to the training room you go! Oh, if you can't do it tomorrow you'll be blasted into bits!"

The group was dragged off.

* * *

Orihime's attempt created a perfect sphere.

Uryuu's created a very strange shape.

Chad's was a sphere that was unstable but very strong.

Nel's was exceptionally stable and a bit larger than average.

Ichigo…Couldn't even make one.

After a long time of trying, Ichigo finally got pissed and threw it at one of the guard twins who had been coaching them.

Suddenly the door opened.

"Boss," the man said to Ganju. "Dinner's ready."

Ganju yelled to the others: "Hey you guys, dinner's ready! Go eat, you must be hungry."

"Huh?" asked Uryuu. "What do you mean?"

"You won't be getting anything to eat elsewhere," explained Ganju. "People in the alley don't use their spiritual energy, so they don't get hungry."

"Oh, but Ichigo isn't…"

"Don't worry about me. You guys go on; I'll join you when I'm done."

"If you say so," said Uryuu. "Orihime, are you coming?"

"I'm not hungry. You two go first, I'll stay with Ichigo!"

Her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.

"I was just kidding! I'm only a little hungry!"

Ichigo sighed.

"Orihime. Go with them, I don't mind."

"It's not that! I just want to practice some more! I'm not that hungry…"

"Orihime," Ichigo said in a bit more of a distressed tone. "Please."

"Oh? O-okay then! Since you put it that way, I'll be going!"

"I can stay; I don't really need to eat," informed Nel.

"You go too," Ichigo said bluntly. "You should get to know the rest of the group a little better. This will probably be your best chance until we finish our mission, and it'd help us as a group to be closer and know one another's strengths and weaknesses."

Nel frowned but nodded, leaving with the rest of them.

Ichigo again focused on the orb.

However, Ganju seemed intent on stopping him, being extremely distracting nearby.

"BE QUIET!"

Ichigo threw the orb at Ganju.

"You're trying pretty hard," the man commented. "Is she important? This soul reaper you're trying to rescue?"

"I guess you could say that."

Ichigo took the sphere back from Ganju.

"Give me that."

"Did you make a promise to save her or something?"

"No."

"Then you must be saving her for some huge cash reward!"

"We use different money in our world, idiot."

"Then why are you trying so hard?! I don't get it!"

"I owe her. She saved my life; I need to return the favor."

Ichigo paused.

"She saved my life and the lives of my family by giving me her power. Doing that got her arrested. Now she's going to be executed. I'm not a punk who can sit back and do nothing while someone is going to die for his sake."

Ganju walked over and took the orb.

"Give it back!"

"I want to practice too! Got a problem with that? Cover your ears; don't you dare listen! I'm going to practice with my secret shortcut for this thing."

"Gan…"

"First… I picture a circle in my mind. Fill it with deep, dark color. Then… I imagine myself moving toward the center of it. That is the basics of all Kido."

A sphere appeared around Ganju.

He released the barrier around him.

"Easiest thing in the world; with that shortcut any _idiot _can do this! Now that I think about it, there was no need for me to practice!"

Ganju walked out of the room.

"Oh well, practice by yourself! Thought I know you have absolutely no talent so you can't do it even if you use the shortcut. I'm out of here!"

"What a terrible actor, that idiot," murmured Ichigo.

Ichigo focused on the sphere and replicated the technique he'd been told.

Suddenly there was a burst of spiritual pressure.

There was a huge bright glowing orb with Ichigo in the middle.

The door to the room burst open.

"What do you think you're doing idiot! Focus your energy already!"

Ichigo did so and the sphere condensed.

"I did it!"

"Nice going Ichigo!" cheered Orihime.

"Yeah!"

_Crack._

"Idiot! Don't lose your concentration!"

"Huh?"

The sphere Ichigo was in exploded.

He found himself smoking on the floor with a foot on his head.

"Did you listen to what I said? If you lose your focus it's gonna explode. I said that, didn't I? Speak!"

"Yes… You specifically warned us not to."

"So you did it on purpose?"

"Yeah! It's your-!"

Ganju was going to criticize Ichigo but got hit for it.

"No food for either of you!"

"No way!" yelled Ganju.

After the rest of the group left Ichigo decided he needed to ask Zangetsu a question.

'How do I get back to that desert?'

**"Thinking of getting some more power eh? It's simple, do what you did for that sphere except focus on where you want to go and push the power into your fingertip, then tap the air."**

Ichigo did as instructed and the air ripped apart.

Ganju turned around, shocked.

"Hey, what the hell is that?!"

"Dunno. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Where are you going?!"

"To get more power."

* * *

Ichigo ran the deserts until he sensed a group of Adhudjas class hollows.

**"We can handle them," **Zangetsu informed, seemingly reading Ichigo's mind.

'Good.'

Ichigo charged the group. However, a Panther-like hollow had apparently heard or sensed his approach and leapt at him.

Ichigo grabbed him by the neck and threw him away.

"You're pretty good, but I'm the king around these parts! My name is Grimmjow Jagerjack and you're my prey!"

"You're the one that's gonna get eaten here!"

Ichigo vanished into Sonido and tackled the hollow again.

The other hollows seemed as if they were going to interfere, but Grimmjow growled at them and they stopped.

"You seem different from other hollows I've fought," Ichigo noted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Most of them were just like 'grr I'm gonna eat you any way I can' but you seem like you enjoy fighting fairly."

"Not bad, you've read me well, but that changes nothing! I'm going to evolve into a Vasto Lorde!"

"If you're going to fight like this, I don't have time; maybe some other time when I can, but right now I need to get stronger fast."

"You sayin' you're gonna run away?! Like hell!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and grabbed Grimmjow by the throat, his determination focusing his power.

"I said I don't have time, okay? If you want to fight we'll do it another time, but someone I care about is in danger and I don't have time right now!"

He released Grimmjow and sped off into Sonido.

**"When you two do fight it's gonna be a good one, I can tell by his power! I almost want a piece of the action myself."**

Ichigo sped off to find more prey.

* * *

Ichigo re-entered the training room and saw Ganju reading something.

"What're you doing?"

"None of yours, kid."

"What?!"

"Oh Ichigo, you're back."

Uryuu entered the room.

"Yoruichi is waiting for you on the surface. We're leaving."

"We are?"

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" asked Kuukaku once everyone had arrived. "I'm not waiting any longer, brats! Ready? Let's go!"

* * *

Soon the group was all holding onto the sphere, soaring through the sky.

Ichigo was having difficulties surprising his power however, and the group had to pour everything they had into it in the end, smashing through the wall.

However, the ball dissipated and everyone got tossed away from one another.

Ichigo and Ganju got sent one way, Orihime and Uryuu another, Nel and Chad a third direction, and Yoruichi a fourth.

* * *

"GAH!"

The jaw on Ichigo's mask opened up for the first time in forever and sand poured out.

"We're saved cause of that weird magic. Thanks Gan…"

Ganju coughed up sand himself.

"How are you gonna cough?! That was YOUR magic!"

Ichigo kicked him.

"How are you gonna kick your savior?!"

"I didn't kick you! That was a modern way of saying 'Thank you'!"

"What!? Is that so?!"

"So lucky!"

A voice from behind them said.

Two men in Soul Reaper uniforms jumped down behind them.

"Originally I thought standing guard was too troublesome, so I wandered off," said the bald man. "And here's the prey right in front of me!"

'Sick of being called prey,' Ichigo thought.

**"Then become the predator, partner."**

'Right.'

"Today is my lucky day! As for you, you are very unlucky!"

"Huh?"

Ichigo turned along with Ganju to face the two Soul Reapers.

* * *

Nel and Chad were both in a tree nearby where they'd landed.

"What should we do next?" asked Chad.

"We should focus on finding everyone else and making sure they're okay I think, and avoid fights as much as we can," Nel said.

Chad nodded.

"Good idea."

* * *

Back with Ichigo the bald man had performed a strange dance.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO STILL DOING IN THERE?! I did my Tsuki-Tsuki dance to give you time to climb out of there, yet you did nothing but stare?! What ungrateful bastards!"

He looked at Ichigo.

"And what the hell are you supposed to be, a hollow with a kitchen knife on your back?"

"Something like that."

**"'Kitchen knife' he says. I ain't a damn kitchen knife! Kick his ass Ichigo!"**

Ichigo climbed out of the pit, and had one foot on the ground above before Ganju yelled "what are you doing? We need to run!"

Ichigo ignored him.

"Fine, you get yourself killed, I'm out of here!"

"You two breaking up?" asked the bald man.

"Something like that."

"How troublesome. Yumichika!"

"Affirmative."

The bald man's partner chased Ganju.

"So why didn't you run?" asked the bald man. "That guy probably noticed that we are stronger, so he ran off. I thought that was pretty smart of him."

"If you're really stronger than me, what would be the point of running? You would have just caught up and that would have been it. However, if you're weak… Then I can just kick your ass and move forward. That's what I was thinking."

"I see… You ain't so dumb after all."

The bald man brought his sword down and Ichigo jumped out of the way.

Ichigo then retorted with his own blade.

'He dodged it… he's pretty agile,' thought the bald man, who blocked the blade with his sheathe.

'He's using the sheathe?!' questioned Ichigo.

He noticed the blade coming at him from his right and jumped off of the sheathe, leaping into the air and avoiding the strike.

The two cut one another however, both on the head.

Ichigo's mask repaired itself. His wound did not.

"one question," asked the bald man. "what's your name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Weird name for a hollow."

"I'm not just a hollow."

"Menos?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Heh… you have a nice name, regardless."

"You're the first one to ever say that."

"Men with the word 'Ichi' in their name are often powerful and talented. I am 3rd Seat of the 11th division, Ikkaku Madarame! Since we both have 'Ichi' in our names, let's make this a great fight!"

"Whatever!"

* * *

Nel and Chad avoided yet another patrol hunting for them.

"That arm you used to break your fall," Nel started. "It feels very hollow-like. Er, no offense. I understand how a human could be sensitive about being called hollow-like."

"It's fine. That's an interesting observation; here I thought I'd developed my power from Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers. Maybe they're from his Hollow powers instead." Chad replied. "Do you know where the others are?"

Nel nodded.

"Ichigo is…" she pointed outward and moved her finger until she reached where she sensed Ichigo. "There. Ganju is running away from him for some reason, and being chased it looks like. Ichigo's fighting someone right now himself, but I think he'll be fine. Orihime and Uryuu are over that way."

She pointed in the complete opposite direction.

"There's a squad of soul reapers near them, but it seems they're frantic; they're still searching for the two. I can't seem to spot Yoruichi, I have no idea how that is or where he is. Ichigo is closest; we should try to make our way to him first, unless you disagree."

"Ichigo can handle himself; I think we should find Uryuu and Orihime first."

"Alright, follow me then, and try to keep up."

The two ran off towards Orihime and Uryuu.

* * *

"I just can't understand," said Ikkaku. "Even though there's a fair amount of distance between us, when two people are engaged in a fight, only a rookie would remove a hand from his sword."

"That's none of your business," retorted Ichigo. "I can't see clearly cause of the blood in my eye."

"That wound isn't very deep, how can it bleed so much?"

Ikkaku took the end of his blade off and removed some substance that he rubbed over the wound.

"Instead of constantly wiping the blood off, you should find a way to stop the bleeding."

"Huh?! You have ointment to stop the bleeding! Cheater! You're only using it on yourself!"

"That's not cheating it's called being intelligent! Intelligent! You should say 'no wonder you've lived through so much'!"

The man grinned and replaced the end of his sword's hilt.

"What a weirdo. Your actions are that of a rookie; I really can't tell that you're a warrior. But your reactions are very fast and your attacks are very strong! As for your body movements… You could say it's very close to mine!"

"Huh?"

"Why are you so serious? I'm complimenting you."

Ichigo had one eye closed to keep the blood out at this point.

**"Hang on partner, this is gonna sting a bit."**

There was a hissing noise as Ichigo felt his flesh bubble and then seal up under his mask.

Ichigo blinked a bit and cleared the blood from his eye enough to see well again.

"Oh, so you have somethin' to fix your wound too huh?"

"Eh? I guess so."

"Then how was I cheating?!"

"You knew you had it! I just found out about this, and I don't even know what I did!"

Ikkaku sighed.

"You're just a rookie who likes to fight. Saying that you're using your 'instincts' seems to be praising you too much."

**"He has a point you know; you've been ignoring what I've taught you too much. Feel the flow of the fight, ride the current, and surge forth to crush whoever stands in your way, Ichigo! That is how to properly use my power!"**

"Who's your teacher?" asked Ikkaku.

"He only taught me for a short time. I don't know if that's enough to be considered a teacher, but someone did teach me fighting tactics."

"Who is he?"

"Kisuke Urahara."

"I see. So he's your teacher. In that case it would be very rude of me to kill you too easily."

Ikkaku slammed the hilt of his sword into the sheath's opening.

"Grow, Hozukimaru!"

The blade transformed into a spear.

"What?"

"Don't have time to be surprised, Ichigo! Here I come!"

The man dashed forward, weapon in hand.

"Don't miss it!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?!"

Time seemed to slow for Ichigo as the spear went for him.

'Feel the flow.'

Ichigo moved to the side, avoiding the attack.

'Ride the current!'

Ichigo gripped the spear with his right hand and pulled, shocking Ikkaku.

'Surge forth!'

He brought his blade up with his left arm.

'Crush whoever stands in my way!'

He slashed… and missed as Ikkaku sidestepped and delivered a solid punch to Ichigo's masked face, causing him to release the spear.

'Damn, he's fast!'

Ikkaku then made another swing, but Ichigo blocked this one with his sword.

"That wasn't too bad, Ichigo. You managed to dodge my strike and catch my weapon, very impressive!"

"It's not that hard! It takes longer to attack using a spear! There's no way to miss it!"

"You're wrong."

"What?!"

"Split! Hozukimaru!"

The spear broke into sections connected by chains and they looped around Ichigo's head, the blade going right for it.

Ichigo, in a desperate move, raised his arm and blocked, but blood sprayed from an open wound.

"When I said 'don't miss it' I was referring to that. Hozukimaru isn't a spear, it's a Sansetsukon."

Ichigo looked at his arm.

"It hurts right? I think you won't be able to use your sword with that arm anymore."

'Zangetsu, if you could do whatever you did-!'

**"Pain is a good teacher, Ichigo. You misjudged the flow of the battle, this is a lesson. It may seem cruel but think about it; how have you learned most of your skills?"**

Ichigo thought back to Urahara's insane training.

**"There you go, Partner. You're a regular masochist!"**

Zangetsu let out a loud, crazy laugh.

Ichigo frowned and looked at the bandage on the end of his blade.

"I'm a generous person," started Ikkaku. "If you were any other person, I'd try to capture you alive. I'm sorry, but if I don't kill you then it won't count as an achievement."

Ichigo finished bandaging up his arm with Zangetsu's bandage.

"There!"

"What?!"

Ichigo leapt at Ikkaku and brought his blade down, cutting a large gash in the structure behind him.

"It seemed like you'd finished talking, but you still don't know my sword. This has just begun, Ikkaku. Next time, it's you who won't be able to hold your weapon."

"So arrogant… punk! I won't be able to hold MY sword soon? You sure talk big, Ichigo. But I don't see where such confidence comes from!"

The two traded blows for a bit, steel striking wood and steel, before Ikkaku started spinning part of his Zanpakto.

"So? Is bluffing the only thing that you can do? Hozukimaru's form is ever changing; a rookie like you can't possibly keep up."

"You're wrong. I'm already…" Ichigo opened his fist and released a handful of the fur from Hozukimaru. "Getting used to it."

Sure enough, the blunt end of the weapon that Ikkaku had been swinging was partially crushed, the fur almost all missing. It stopped spinning.

There was a look of shock on Ikkaku's face right before Ichigo jumped at him.

"I'll tell you again, next it'll be you who won't be able to hold your sword!"

The ground erupted with power as the blade struck Ikkaku's… and split it, leaving a long cut along Ikkaku's torso.

"Hehe… How's this? Do you give up yet? I can still hold my sword! The only way I will ever lose my grip on my sword is by losing my hands!"

"Put it away."

"No!"

"I said put it away! We're done! You know you've lost!"

"What are you talking about? We're still fighting. One of us will die before it's over! I, Ikkaku Madarame of Zaraki's 3rd Squad, will never..."

He charged Ichigo.

"WALK AWAY FROM A FIGHT LIKE A COWARD!"

"TOO SLOW!"

Ichigo sidestepped and brought his blade down, cutting Ikkaku's arm.

"Damn… You're too strong…"

Ikkaku fell to the ground.

"Tough luck…"

"That's my line, damn you."

Ichigo noticed his wound was bleeding through the bandages.

He noticed the sword went back to a sealed state and had an idea.

* * *

Ikkaku opened his eyes.

"I'm still… Alive?"

"You awake?"

Ichigo was sitting on some rubble nearby.

"Yo."

After much debate Zangetsu had agreed to heal Ichigo's arm, but refused to reveal to Ichigo how to do it himself.

"Ichigo you idiot, why are you still here?"

"No reason. Hey, I just found out the Zanpakto returns to normal when it's owner is unconscious."

Ichigo held up the blade in its sheathe.

"My Hozukimaru! Give it back!"

"I never intended to keep it! I just borrowed some of your medicine. I ended up using it all on your wounds though. Doesn't seem to be doing much though."

"Damn you! What are you doing?!"

"What? I fixed up your wounds. I healed with that same ability from earlier after you went unconscious."

Ichigo motioned to his arm.

"It's not that! How could I not die after losing so much blood! What a shame to be saved by the enemy! If I could move, I'd kill you right now!"

"So ungrateful, I shouldn't have helped you. Oh well. I don't care if you thank me, but I do have a question for you."

"I thought you would… such bad luck… What do you want to know? My birthday?"

Ichigo frowned under his mask and walked over to Ikkaku, standing over him.

"Where is Rukia Kuchiki?"

"You mean the girl on death row? Why do you want to know?"

"I'm here to rescue her."

"Rescue her?! How many of you are there?! Seven, maybe eight?"

"Six people and a cat."

"A cat?! Do you really think that you can rescue her with just that?!"

"Yeah."

"HAHAHAHAHHAHA! How's that possible?! Are you idiots?!"

Suddenly a wound reopened and blood sprayed.

"Shit! I laughed so hard I opened my wound!"

"You're the idiot here."

"In any case, go straight south from here and you'll see the main offices of the 13 divisions."

"You're gonna tell me where she is?"

"Shut up. Listen quietly or I won't tell you! West of the offices is a tall white tower. She's probably in that tower."

"Really?"

"You don't believe me?!"

Ikkaku sighed.

"I don't care what your real intentions are. But if you want to go there, go ahead. Also! If you stay here much longer, someone may come! So if you want to go, go now!"

"Alright. I'll repay you later, Ikkaku."

"Don't repay me dammit."

Ichigo started to leave.

"Hold it. I have a question for you. Who's the strongest in your group? You?"

"I'd say so, yeah."

"Then you better watch out for my captain. He's got no interest in the weak. If you are strongest, he'll seek you out."

"Is he strong?"

"You'll know when you see him. Actually… You'll know how strong he is if you survive the meeting."

* * *

"Look, it's over there-!"

Orihime paused as she saw Uryuu's stare at something next to her she couldn't see.

A blade came down… but was stopped after a loud hum was heard.

Nel had blocked the strike with her sword.

"I'll tell you now, let us go peacefully or I'll be forced to fight you."

"You blocked my strike; not bad. But what is this about letting you go peacefully? You should be remorseful; if you hadn't have appeared before me, you might have lived longer."

"I don't want to hurt anyone if I don't have to, but I'll let you know my power is leagues above your own."

"Have you seen Chad?" asked Uryuu.

"We got split up on the way here, I'm sorry."

"Ten! Time for regret is up!"

Nel narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's you who should be regretting."

She vanished in a blur of Sonido and appeared behind him.

"Because this is going to hurt you much more than it will me, Soul Reaper."

She struck his back and drew blood, but before he could even turn to strike her she was in front of him, and cut his chest as well.

"Fall."

She slashed the backs of his knees and he collapsed.

Nel shook the blood off her blade and sheathed it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ichigo and Ganju had "Kidnapped" a Squad 4 member.

However, their plan had not worked quite as intended, and they'd had to run anyway, thus the young man was with them.

"My name is Hanatarou Yamada," he said, bowing.

"That's hard to remember." Said Ganju and Ichigo simultaneously.

"Really?! But.. but.. everyone always says my name is easy to remember…"

"It's understandable if it's 'Tarou' or 'Hanako' but 'Hanatarou' is way too weird," explained Ichigo.

"Aren't you our enemy?" asked Ganju. "Why are you introducing yourself?"

"That's true…"

"Why'd you bring him with us?!" hissed Ichigo, so as not to draw attention to them in their hiding place.

"I couldn't help it, it was an accident!"

The gears in Hanatarou's head finally clicked as he observed Ichigo.

"Wait… Y-you're a HOL-MPH!"

Ichigo shoved a hand over his mouth.

"No, I'm not. Well, yes I am but I'm not! It's complicated, but I have a soul reaper's sword, see here?"

He pulled Zangetsu slightly off of his back.

"I'm not going to eat your or anything so calm down!"

He sighed and turned to Ganju, who pulled out a map.

"Anyhow, we know that Rukia is in the "white tower" but which road should we take to get there?"

"Um… I really don't want to run into any captains but… it's too bad we don't know their locations."

"Hey, you don't have any roads drawn on this map, idiot."

"Rukia," said the captive soul reaper behind them.

"Be quiet! We're strategizing, don't interrupt!" said Ichigo.

"Yeah, you can leave now," said Ganju. "You're of no use anyway."

"When you said Rukia," started Hanatarou "Did you mean Rukia Kuchiki?"

The two turned to him, surprised.

"I see… So I was right. Captain Kuchiki's sister is being held for a capital crime. SO then… the "white tower" is the Senzanyuu."

Silence.

"Then… I know of a shortcut to that tower."

* * *

"Never would have guessed there was a shortcut through the sewer!" exclaimed Ganju.

The group had been lead underground by Hanatarou into some sewers, a shortcut to the place Rukia was being held.

"Yes. The underground sewers cover the entire city. You can go practically anywhere in the city through these sewers."

"Do they know about the sewer entrance too?" asked Ganju.

"Yes they do," replied the soul reaper medic "but I don't think they will come after us. The only people who know how to navigate the system are the paramedic specialists of the 4th division."

"Ah, so this place doubles as a medic or supply route, thus only your group needs to know it well."

"Haha…. That's not it… Cleaning the sewer just happens to be part of the job of the 4th division… We are weak, so we always end up doing chores…"

"O-oh… I actually pity you guys," said Ganju.

"It's not as bad as you would think really…"

"Hanatarou," Ichigo said. "Why are you so willing to help us? We're your enemies! I'm a hollow (sort of)! Why are you taking us to the 'white tower' without any questions?"

"Actually… I learned a lot from Rukia about you, Ichigo. I sincerely hope that you will save her. Before she was transferred to the Senzakyuu, she was in the holding cell of the 6th division office. During that time I was assigned to Janitorial Duty there. At first I was a little scared; she was a noble after all. But…"

"But what?"

"When I called her 'Lady Rukia' for the first time, she scolded me for it. Then she said 'Please don't address me as Lady Rukia.' Her voice was a lot softer than I could ever imagine… it made me feel at ease. Then I started going there every day, and I started to enjoy my time there. Rukia also started conversing with me. She mostly talked about you, Ichigo. She said that even though she'd only known you 2 months, she has unbelievably high faith in you. Also… Because of her, your life changed forever and you suffered a lot of pain, so she can never make it up to you, no matter what she does. During the time I've seen her, her face was always gloomy and sad."

Ganju sighed.

"Seems like she's another weird Soul Reaper, just like you Ichigo."

"Yeah, she is weird. That's why I have to save her."

Ichigo marched forward, a determined expression under his mask.

"Wait up!"

Ichigo broke into a sprint.

He thought of what Hanatarou told him Rukia had said.

"Idiot. Those are my lines!"

He ran faster.

"I won't let you die no matter what, Rukia."

He said to himself.


	4. Blood-Red Conflict

Chapter 4

Blood-Red Conflict

Hanatarou peeked up from a manhole cover and looked left and right before going up, seeing it was clear.

"There is no way to go directly under the tower, so this is as close as I can take you."

Ichigo and Ganju climbed up out of the hole too and looked around.

"Look," pointed out the soul reaper "That's the Sensakyuu!"

"We're so close already," said Ganju. "Looks enormous. We'll probably have to fight our way to it from now on."

Ichigo turned and faced some nearby stairs.

"What's up Ichi-!"

"Someone's there."

Smoke cleared… and there was a man in a visor with a red spiked ponytail in a soul reaper uniform.

"What's this we have? A hollow and a regular guy?"

"Renji Abarai…" Ichigo growled.

"Waitaminute, that hair looks familiar… You're that kid who stole Rukia's powers aren't you?"

"Not bad, identifying me on hair color alone. I didn't steal them though. She gave them to me."

"I'm impressed you could remember anything after becoming a hollow, let alone make it here without being purified."

"I'm not just a hollow."

Ichigo reached back and gripped his sword.

"I'm a soul reaper too."

"That's not like any Zanpakto I've ever seen, so you're full of it, Kurosaki! I compliment you on remembering my name though."

Ganju and Hanatarou were frozen in fear

"I'm surprised; I thought you'd been killed by Captain Kuchiki's attack."

Ichigo and Renji walked towards one another.

"I don't know how you survived, but it's very impressive and worth complimenting," said Renji. "However, it's all over now."

He drew his blade.

"I've said it before; I'll kill the one who stole Rukia's power. If you're still alive, then Rukia's power cannot be restored. "

"Back then didn't you take her away because you wanted to kill her?! What's the point of saying that now?!" Ichigo growled, drawing his own blade. "I MUST KEEP GOING FORWARD!"

Ichigo charged Renji.

"That depends on if you can defeat me or not!" declared Renji. "Come on, if you have the guts! Don't you like to risk your life?"

Their blades crossed over and over before Renji spoke up.

"Ichigo, let me ask you a question: How do you plan on saving Rukia?"

"How do I…?"

"Even if you beat me there's still 11 more vice Captains, and above that 13 Captains. Unless you can defeat all of us, there's no way you can save Rukia. You sure you can do it?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"Without a doubt. How many Captains there are? How many vice-Captains there are? What does it have to do with me?! I'll fight all of them no matter what! If they dare try to stop me, I'll defeat them all!"

Ichigo managed to push Renji so his back was to a wall.

"Where does this confidence come from? With only one or two life and death battles, you think you can handle anything? Or is it that your Zanpakto is different? Is it these strange hollow-like powers? Can it be with your little improvement you've become this arrogant?"

"I'll show you li-!"

Ichigo was flung backwards by Renji.

"Roar, ZABIMARU!"

The blade changed and went right at Ichigo, who blocked with his own sword.

Ichigo tried to get footing, but even his talons couldn't keep him from being shoved back through a nearby wall.

"Seems like you thought you understood my abilities after just one fight with me. Let me tell you, when Vice-Captains and the higher Soul Reapers go to the living world, in order not to cause unnecessary disturbances to the souls in the world of the living, we try very hard to suppress our powers. Right now, my power is five times stronger than when we last met! It doesn't matter how strong you are, it's close to impossible to beat me?"

"So you're saying.. right now this is your real power…? To me your attacks are totally… Ineffective! Also…you might wanna take… your own advice… Renji…"

Ichigo raised a hand and a red sphere of energy formed.

Renji's eyes widened right before the Cero fired with a loud hum and blasted into Renji.

However, Ichigo hadn't properly focused the attack, so instead of it being a single, powerful blast it was a wider, weaker blast.

It had hurt Renji, but it didn't do as much as it could have.

"If there's 11 more guys like you, I've got absolutely nothing to worry about."

Renji brought his sword back down from blocking the Cero.

"You bastard," he said with a grin.

"Ichigo…" started Ganju.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" asked Hanatarou.

"Never better."

There was a hiss as the wound on Ichigo's head healed over and bubbled, the part of his mask that had been broken regenerating.

However, Ichigo realized that his Spirit Energy had waned a bit; apparently that regeneration took a good deal of his Spiritual Energy to work.

"That's insane…" said Hanatarou.

'Damn… I hope I still have enough Spiritual Energy to beat him.'

"I can feel your Spiritual Pressure dropped; what was that, high speed regeneration? Only high level hollows can do that, but you don't feel all that strong."

Renji stood in a combat stance.

"Is it really okay to talk big in the beginning considering your state now?"

Renji leapt at Ichigo, blade extended.

"It's over!"

There was a low buzzing noise as Ichigo vanished into Sonido.

However, his shoulder still got clipped; the drop in his Spiritual Pressure had cost him some of his speed.

'Dammit!'

He broke into a sprint, running from the Vice-Captain before turning and attempting to fight.

Ichigo couldn't risk healing any wounds; if he did he'd just get slower and weaker, and then he's just get killed.

"Crap!"

Ichigo blocked a strike and collapsed to one knee, wounded and panting and resting on his blade.

"You really are stupid. Do you want to save Rukia that badly?"

"Idiot… I didn't say 'I want to save her'. I said 'I have to save her'."

"Don't make me laugh!"

Ichigo's other shoulder got cut.

"It's your fault that Rukia lost her power! That's why her sentence is so heavy! Don't you get it?! It's because of you that Rukia is going to die! What right do you have to say you want to save her!? Quit joking around!"

"I know it's my fault she's going to die. SO THAT'S WHY I HAVE TO SAVE HER!"

Ichigo brought his blade up and shoved Renji's back.

"Damn you!"

'I can see it! At most 3 times…' Ichigo recalled Urahara's teachings. 'After 3 attacks, he returns Zabimaru to its normal form!'

Ichigo dodged the next strike.

'One…'

The second.

'Two…'

He caught the third on his blade.

'Three!'

Ichigo charged as the blade retracted.

"It's over, Renji!"

Renji dodged the strike.

"Like I said, you can't win. Period."

Renji slashed Ichigo over his chest from his left shoulder down diagonally.

'Shit…!'

He noticed, however, the blow wasn't as deep as it should have been. Yes, it hurt like hell, but it should have been much worse.

'How…Did he dodge that?!'

"It seems you're puzzled about how I dodged your attack. That was a good idea you had, attacking me when I was in between attacks, but why couldn't you hit me? The answer is simple: you're too slow! You're wounded and your spiritual pressure is almost gone! We're on completely different levels Ichigo! The answer is that simple. Do you understand now? You can't rescue Rukia, because I'm going to kill you right here!"

Renji raised his blade… and Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"Like hell you are."

He opened his mouth ad a red orb appeared in front of it.

Renji's eyes widened and he was engulfed in the blast at point blank range.

Ichigo managed to raise his blade, Renji now standing some distance away.

"Sorry… To have kept you waiting…"

Ichigo noticed his power was low; he had one good shot at this. That Cero had burned up a lot of power, so he had to make this next attack count. It had to hurt. It had to bring Renji down.

"I will now put all of my will… Into defeating you!"

Ichigo raised his blade to its full height, above his head, blade facing Renji.

Renji brought his blade up to defend… but failed.

His sword was shattered and a large cut ran the length of his torso from upper left to lower right as a blast of red and white energy shot forth from Zangetsu.

'Damn… I'm totally out… and he's still standing…'

Renji was bleeding profusely but managed to shuffle over to Ichigo.

"Now that I think about it.. I was probably just scared… because I… Damn… I really am a tramp down to my bones. I hate myself. I bark at the star but don't have the courage to jump and grab it."

Renji grabbed the collar of Ichigo's uniform.

"I never won once against Captain Kuchiki. Ever since Rukia left… I trained everyday but I still failed.. He's too strong. Fighting to get Rukia back… is nothing but an impossible dream to me. Kurosaki… I'm probably shameless for doing this, but I have to ask you… Please! You have to save Rukia!"

"Yeah…"

Renji collapsed… shortly followed by Ichigo.

* * *

Ichigo woke up in the world of skyscrapers.

**"Hey partner. You sure got roughed up out there."**

"I did. I thought I was supposed to be stronger, capable of taking down a captain? Why couldn't I beat a Vice-Captain without almost dying myself?!"

**"That's a good question partner." **The white "him" with the mask crossed an arm and cupped his chin in his hand. **"Wait a minute. You ain't just a hollow partner. Yer' a Soul Reaper too. Yer Hollow half's gotten stronger but yer soul reaper half ain't as much, so it's probably causin' some sort of imbalance!"**

"How do I make my soul reaper powers stronger then, Zangetsu? Can you teach me?"

The white being grinned, sliding his mask to the side of his head.

**"Sure partner, but it ain't gonna be easy. Oi, old man! Come out! You're needed!"**

The man appeared from bits of black that flew out of the White Ichigo.

"What is it I am required for?"

**"Ichigo needs training with his Soul reaper powers. I figure since I've been trainin' his hollow powers you can try yer hand at trainin' his soul reaper ones. I'll leave it up to you, Old man."**

The white Ichigo lied on a nearby building on his side, resting his head in his hand with his elbow on a building.

The old man looked to Ichigo.

"I believe the first thing you must learn is the ability to enter your inner world at will Ichigo; the technique is called Jinzen. It is a very simple technique; you make yourself comfortable and then focus on your sword and inner world, allowing yourself to enter at will. Seeing as we cannot practice this now, I will allow you to do so at a later time. For now, we shall focus on you getting to know your sword better."

The old man steppd down from his pole.

"I am displeased with this place, Ichigo. There are no trees, only buildings. I would like if you were to add more nature to this place."

Ichigo frowned.

"Okay, what about you?" Ichigo asked, looking to the white mirror of himself.

**"Eh, me? I don't really care, nothing to really complain about. As long as you keep getting stronger I don't care what this place looks like, although you coming in here in your free time to spar would be nice; I like fights, and since I don't feel like you'd be willing to let me have any out there, fighting you now and again would be fun; it would also help train you and we could use it to help you learn techniques. Speaking of which…"**

The white Ichigo stood up and stretched.

**"I think it's time you learned yer' Shikai's special ability. That fight woulda gone a lot better if you knew it. It burns less Spirit Energy than Cero and y' don't need to charge it."**

The old man nodded.

"A technique is much more powerful when you know its name, Ichigo. You have performed the attack on accident many times now because you lack good control over your spiritual pressure. That is something we intend to teach you properly while you are here as well. Time here is longer than time outside; we will have what would be days outside in the course of one night while the body is healed. Hopefully after this you will be more capable in combat."

Ichigo nodded.

"Alright then, let's get started."

The white Ichigo nodded for the Old Man to move to Ichigo's other side and drew his sword.

**"Getsuga Tensho."**

He brought the sword down and a wave of red and white energy shot out.

**"You try Ichigo; simply focus your power into the sword and imagine a wave shooting out as soon as you've brought the blade down completely from a stroke. That's how you use the Getsuga Tensho. Remember, if you call its name it'll be even stronger!"**

Ichigo nodded and raised his own blade.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The wave was enormous but dissipated quickly.

"As you can see Ichigo, that attack was unfocused and thus lost power and momentum and eventually faded away at a short distance; if you can learn to condense your power and focus it you will be able to strike targets further away and with more power. This brings us to our next lesson; controlling your power."

**"As I've tried to teach you before, you gotta learn to do this to use not just Getsuga Tensho but all of yer hollow powers too; Cero is like Kido like y' said to th' cat. Yer' high speed regeneration requires ya t' focus yer power in one place. Y' noticed how that attack Renji hit ya with didn't go as deep as it shoulda, right? That's yer Hierro, or Iron Skin. T'use that you need to be able to condense yer spiritual pressure around yer body like armor. Th more condensed it is, th' stronger it is and th' safer ya are, partner."**

"Once this is all over it is possible you could learn Kido, provided you can master this basic skill. It would give you another edge in battle; the ability to restrain enemies or launch attacks whilst locking blades would be a most useful advantage indeed."

"So how do I do it?"

**"It's simple partner…"**

* * *

Ichigo groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ichigo, you're awake!"

"Hanatarou… where are we?"

"Please stay still; your wounds are not healed yet."

"Right…I was fighting Renji….!"

Ichigo sat up.

"Ichigo!?'

"Thanks Hanatarou, I'm okay."

"What are you talking about?! You can't get up yet!"

"I have to.."

Ichigo got up and stumbled forward…before being knocked out again.

* * *

Upon leaving the sewers again much, much later, Ichigo and Ganju chatted for a bit before they felt an immense Spiritual pressure.

"What…. Is that?!"

"Whose spiritual pressure is this…?!" growled Ganju.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and turned.

"Run! Someone really strong is nearby! We should run before they find us!"

The three bolted.

After a while Ichigo growled; the pressure was still there.

'We've been running so long, but I still feel so close to the source. There's so much of it and I'm still not perfect at sensing it, so I can't tell exactly where the owner is… It's like there's a sword at my throat!'

Suddenly Hanatarou collapsed.

Ganju turned and ran over to him.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm out of energy.."

Ganju threw the soul reaper over his shoulder and continued running.

Then the saw him; a soul reaper with a white coat standing on a high up rooftop.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked Ichigo. "Don't just stand there and stare."

Suddenly he felt a sword go through his torso… but there was none.

'Just from his killing intent!?'

"Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?"

The voice came from behind Ichigo.

"How do you know my name?! Who are you?!"

"Oh? Ikkaku didn't tell you about me?"

Ichigo remembered what Ikkaku had said.

"I am the captain of the 11th Division, Zakarai Kenpachi! I have come here to kill you."

Ichigo Sonido'd away and turned to face him.

'No wonder his power is so strong, he feels completely different from anyone I've met…'

"So? I told you that I'm here to kill you. You haven't said anything in response. Does that mean you're ready to start now?"

Ichigo felt Hanatarou's spiritual pressure drop and turned.

"Hanatarou! Ganju!"

"We're fine… don't be an idiot… worry about that guy or you'll just get killed."

"Oh~ He's drooling!" exclaimed a high pitched voice.

Ichigo turned around and saw a little girl on Kenpachi's shoulder with pink hair.

"Huh?"

The girl leapt onto Ichigo's shoulder.

"Kenny really scared him, poor thing!"

"…!"

Ichigo shrugged her off.

"He got angry," she pouted.

"Idiot," Kenpachi said. "It's your fault."

Ichigo brandished his blade.

"Ganju! Take Hanatarou and get out of here! I'll try to stop this guy! Go save Rukia!"

"But…by yourself…!"

"Shut up and go!"

"Alright then," agreed Ganju, taking the boy and running.

"What a surprise," Ichigo said. "Neither of you are chasing them. Isn't your objective to stop us?"

"For the last damn time, I'm here to fight you. They can die anywhere they want for all I care."

Ichigo was barely holding up.

"Not bad. So what are you eh? Some sort of hollow?"

Ichigo was about to answer but got interrupted.

"Never mind, as long as you're strong it doesn't matter to me. Your stance looks good by the way. Lots of openings but it's high in Spiritual pressure. No wonder Ikkaku lost. Our Vice Captains would be no match for you."

"Thanks."

"You're still far weaker than me though. How about this? I'll give you a chance."

He opened the top of his uniform some.

"Cut me anywhere you want and don't hold back."

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not going to attack someone unarmed. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Nah, this is a handicap. A charity. It's nice of you, not wanting to attack an unarmed person but you should save your sympathy for someone else. Don't be so stuck-up; just enjoy this! Killing and being killed are just a way to pass time! C'mon! Neck, stomach, eye, anywhere! It'll be even better if you kill me in one blow!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?! C'MON!"

"You asked for it, don't regret it later!"

Ichigo brought his blade down… and was in shock as his hands were bleeding.

"Not bad, you managed to break a little skin. Still, I'm disappointed. I expected more from you. Now… It's my turn. Please don't die too quickly."

The man drew his sword and Ichigo sonido'd back.

'He pushed Zangetsu back with a bare arm… what a monster!'

**"It's like Hierro… Ichigo! Remember our training! You're going to need to be quick if you want to beat this guy."**

'Right.'

"it's useless Ichi," said a voice near him. "Ichi's sword won't do anything to Kenny because a sword like that is the same as a bladeless sword to Kenny!"

"What?!"

"Lemme tell you why your sword can't even scratch me. It's pretty simple really; when two spiritual beings collide, the side with the weaker spiritual pressure will get hurt, that's all there is too it. In other words, my spiritual pressure is much stronger than yours. Simple, ain't it? Can't believe I camped all night for this. So sad it's not even funny. At the very least, deny this sword just a tiny little bit. Please, trespasser."

The man raised his blade and Ichigo moved to block.

* * *

Chad fired another blast of power, sending Soul Reapers flying.

'At first I'd get exhausted after firing 2 times, but now I don't even break a sweat after 5. I'll have to thank Yoruichi when I see him again.'

Chad started running.

'Yoruichi… Orihime… Uryuu… Ichigo… Is everyone safe? What about Ganju and Nelliel? I hope no one got hurt.'

Chad saw a man in a pink kimono in front of him and stopped.

"This is the end of the line for you, foolish trespasser!"

* * *

Nel suddenly turned.

"Chad's in danger. He stands no chance against this person; this person's power is much stronger than Chad's."

She looked to Orihime and Uryuu.

"Stay somewhere safe; I'm going to help Chad. I'm the only one of us fast enough to get there in time."

The other two reluctantly nodded and Nel vanished in a blur.

* * *

"…Captain of the 8th division…"

"Yup, Nice to meet you."

Flower petals continued to fly.

The man looked up.

"Hey Nanao, you can stop throwing petals now!"

She just threw more.

"U-uh, can ya hear me Nanao? You can stop now Nanao! Nanao?"

AH!"

The whole basket was dumped on him, burying him.

"… I'm sorry, I don't have time for games. Please move aside."

"Don't say that! What's wrong with staying with me? You people sure are stoic."

"I'm in a hurry, so please move. You don't look like a bad guy, so if it's possible I don't want to fight you."

"How problematic! Neither of us wants to fight. However, I cannot let you pass. Would you please turn back?"

"I can't do that."

"Oh? It can't be helped…"

The man produced an urn and two clay cups, which he placed on the ground after sitting up properly.

"Drink, my friend!"

"…Huh?"

"Since you won't turn back, at least stay here for a while. Just a little while. All the other Captains have made their moves by now. This battle should be over soon. Until then, please stay here and drink to your heart's content!"

"The other Captains…? Ichigo and the others are also being attacked by Captains?"

"Darn, it seems that I've said too much."

"The situation has changed. Please move aside immediately Captain Kyouraku."

The man sipped his sake.

"What if I refuse?"

"You won't get a chance to!"

Chad fired El Directo at the man.

* * *

'It's starting,' thought Nel with a frown. 'Hang in there.'

Nel picked up her pace.

* * *

"Missed."

Chad was trying his hardest to hit the man but kept missing.

"Missed again."

'How is he dodging them?'

"I suggest you give up. Y'know you're pretty good. Fast and strong, you're extremely good for a human. However, you can't hit me so none of that matters. The result is obvious if we keep this up. I suggest you give up and turn back now."

"I can't do that-!"

There was a low hum and Nel appeared between the two facing Shunsui.

"Chad, stand down. You can't beat him."

Nel glared at the captain.

"But I can."

"Oh? And who might you be miss?"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

The man adjusted his hat.

"And you say you can beat me?"

She nodded.

"I don't like fighting, but if I have to I will. I can't let you stop us, I'm sorry."

"You don't seem like a human, but you aren't a soul reaper either. What are ya?"

"A Vasto Lorde."

Shunsui's eyes widened for a moment.

"Then maybe you can beat me. Or not. Why don't we see?"

"I'm sorry, I can't let this drag on. We have to go; I can sense another of my friends is in trouble to."

She pulled her sword out of its sheath and held it in front of her.

"Chad, go back the way I came and meet up with Orihime and Uryuu. Find me again, and we'll regroup with Ichigo."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yes."

Chad ran off, blasting through a nearby wall.

"I'm sorry Captain, but I'm going to end this quickly." She closed her eyes. "Declare, Gamuza."

The words came to her without any rhyme or reason; they felt natural as they rolled off her tongue.

A burst of pink spiritual energy shot out around her, surrounding and obscuring her.

"What's this then? I ain't never heard of a hollow with a Shikai."

When the smoke cleared a centaur-like being with armored shoulders and arms holding a large lance appeared.

"This isn't a Shikai. This is my 'true' power. This is your last warning, Soul Reaper: run or be defeated absolutely."

The man lowered his hat.

"Sorry, I can't do that."

Nel closed her eyes then shot them open.

In a blur she was next to the man and struck him with her lance, launching him across the area they were in.

She lifted her lance and it glowed green.

"Lanzador Verde."

She threw it and it drilled right into the Captain's chest before exploding in a burst of energy.

She turned to the man's Vice-Captain.

"Tend to your Captain. He is wounded."

Nel sealed her blade and vanished, heading for Ichigo.

X

Ichigo was still trading blows with the mad Captain and just barely holding his own.

"Shit…!"

Ichigo jumped back to avoid another swing.

"RUNNING AWAY AGAIN?!"

'Calm down… Calm down…! Dammit, I can't do it! He's invincible!'

Ichigo managed to get a good distance away and stop.

Calling upon the techniques he'd been taught in the sewers by Zangetsu, he focused on the wound on his hand and the skin bubbled and healed.

'Still… I hit him and he didn't even get hurt! Is the difference between us that great?!'

Suddenly the wall next to Ichigo burst open and Kenpachi appeared next to him.

"Stop running around. I don't like playing hide and seek with weaklings."

The man leaped into the air, ready to strike.

'Calm down! Calm down now! I'm scared by his Spiritual Pressure right now. That's all. If I calm down and focus there's no reason I can't hurt him."

"It's just like Zangetsu said; throw away my fear and never stop moving forward. If I retreat I age, if I fear I die!"

'I can beat him! I can win!'

Ichigo found the man again and stood tall, facing him.

"You've finally decided to come out. Ready to die? OR are you surrendering?"

"None of the above!"

Ichigo charged and steel met steel.

However, Ichigo powered through… and cut Kenpachi across the chest.

"Sorry, I can't stay held up here. If I do then everything I hold dear will be destroyed!"

'I can cut him! Not just that, I can WIN!'

Kenpachi's face turned to a huge grin.

"So you can cut me after all… You better not relax yet. The fun is just beginning, isn't it Ichigo Kurosaki!?"

The two clashed blades several more times before Kenpachi grabbed Ichigo's sword and tried to throw him away.

Ichigo barely dodged being impaled on Kenpachi's sword, kicked the man's hand, and flipped, blocking a second strike.

Ichigo yet again barely blocked a strike to his back, hearing a sound behind him that alerted him.

"Good, very good! You can finally hear my bells! The bells, the eye patch, they're all tools to make the battle more enjoyable! If you don't' take advantage of them it'll be boring!"

"You're still underestimating me aren't you? Is that why you haven't released your Zanpakto? Are you nuts? My sword's already cut you. If you keep holding back I'll beat you for sure."

"My sword has no name," Kenpachi informed.

"What?"

"This is the only form of my sword. I didn't put any seal on it. This is the true form of my Zanpakto."

"Good to know, means your sword can't get any stronger. So-!"

Ichigo blocked a strike with the flat of his blade.

"So what? So you'll win if you just try a little bit harder? You're the one underestimating me! The reason there's no seal is because my spiritual pressure is so strong that even the strongest seal won't do any good; my sword's constantly released. So when I fight, I just hold back on how hard I swing. Do you get it now? If I don't hold back, my enemy will become so weak that I can't enjoy it at all."

Ichigo heard his blade crack and knew what was coming.

He poured as much power as he could to where the blade would hit his torso and sure enough it penetrated his butcher's knife of a blade… but stopped when it hit his skin.

"Huh?"

Kenpachi's look of confusing turned to a wild grin.

"Damn, that's something! Seems like you were holding back too! Still, your sword's useless."

Ichigo watched the top half of his sword fall to the ground.

'Shit…'

"Sure you could cut me, sure you could hear my bell but in the end none of it matters cause your sword couldn't hold up. I dunno what trick you pulled there but it isn't going to help you win."

'What should I do? I can't just fight him without a sword.'

**"Gimme time partner, I can repair my blade. You're gonna have to fight him as a hollow until then, got it? If you focus your Cero enough I bet you could go right through his spiritual pressure."**

'Alright then, I'll try.'

**"Don't you dare die, partner!"**

"I don't' need a sword to beat you."

"Alright then! Let's do this!"

Kenpachi charged at Ichigo, but Ichigo vanished in a blur of Sonido and appeared behind Kenpachi, kicking him in the back and launching him forward.

Ichigo sonido'd over to the bits of Zangetsu and the bandages wrapped around them, securing them in a mostly solid shape before Ichigo returned the blade to his back.

"Impressive! You managed to hit me in the back. However…"

Kenpachi was on him.

"let's see if you can do that thing you did a minute ago twice."

Kenpachi brought his blade down and Ichigo blocked it with his forearm.

There was a 'clang' as the metal hit something hard; Ichigo's Hierro.

Ichigo grabbed the man's sword, making sure to keep his Hierro up around his hand, and pulled the blade and thus Kenpachi towards him.

"Let's see you survive this you crazy bastard."

Ichigo charged a cero in his free hand and put it right at Kenpachi's stomach before firing a beam just about as big as his fist into Kenpachi.

"Well…Shit… Not bad…"

Kenpachi coughed up blood, the wound having ripped apart Kenpachi's stomach area to reveal raw muscle that had been torn up by the blast, and then grinned, grabbing Ichigo and tossing him away.

"That wasn't too bad Ichigo, I didn't expect that at all! You're fighting for real now!"

Ichigo felt his pulse quicken. This was actually starting to feel _good_.

"Yeah, I guess I am!"

Ichigo leapt from the crater he'd left and rammed Kenpachi, plowing through several walls before brandishing his claws and swiping across Kenpachi's chest several times, making sure to grip the wound he'd already made and make it bigger with each slash.

Kenpachi managed to kick him off after a short time however, and had the biggest, most insane grin Ichigo had ever seen on his face.

"Sorry, but I have to get going. I can't drag this out any longer. I have to save Rukia."

"What are you saying?! This is just getting' good!"

Kenpachi charged Ichigo, who barely dodged a strike and then caught a second with his forearm.

"I don't get it, when did you get this strong? Is it because you stopped using your sword? It doesn't matter though! Right now we should just enjoy ourselves!"

Ichigo opened his mask and fired another Cero.

It burned Kenpachi but the man shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"You're out of your damn mind! Do you really like fighting this much?! You aren't afraid of dying?"

"I'm crazy?! You're the one who's crazy! You're so damn strong, why don't you like to fight! Enjoy it! The carnage, the pain! They're a small price to pay for enjoying a battle!"

Ichigo backed off.

**"Ding! Your sword is ready to go! Finish that bastard off! No, wait, let him live! We should fight him again sometime! I like im'!"**

'Thanks.'

Ichigo drew his blade again and Kenpachi frowned.

"Don't tell me you're gonna go back to being weak."

"No, I'm going to end this."

"Not before I get a chance to go all out on you!"

Kenpachi ripped off his eye patch… and a burst of power erupted from him.

"Ichigo… can you hear his blade crying?"

'Yeah…'

"He has never listened to that voice. If they do not trust one another when fighting side by side they will diminish each other's strength. For someone who believes only in his own strength it is impossible to understand that."

**"Do you trust us, partner?"**

'Obviously. I'll give you all my power. Use it how you want. In return, please lend me yours.'

**"Gladly."**

Ichigo held his blade in front of him, channeling power into it. For a split second he saw his hands be replaced by those of his counterpart in his head.

Red and white energy erupted from Ichigo, forming a shape that vaguely resembled the mask on his face.

"Hah! You can get stronger even now? Interesting!"

"Of course I can. I'm borrowing Zangetsu's power and fighting alongside Zangetsu. I will never lose to someone who fights alone!"

"Zangetsu? Is that the name of your Zanpakto? Borrowing the power of your sword, fighting alongside your sword…? That's Bullshit. Zanpakto are just tools of war! 'Fighting alongside a Zanpakto' is just the whining of those who are too spineless to fight by themselves. It's not something like…"

A massive gold skull erupted from Kenpachi's aura.

"YOU AND ME SHOULD SAY, ICHIGO!"

**"CUT HIM DOWN ICHIGO! CRUSH HIM IN ONE STRIKE!"**

"GETSUGA…."

The two charged at one another.

"TENSHO!"

Ichigo brought his blade to meet Kenpachi's, and unleashed the attack at the same time.

* * *

Nel stopped as she felt two huge powers clash and one overtake the other. As buildings crumbled she hurried to them.

'Please don't let me be too late.'

* * *

Ichigo stood with a blade going through his torso… but with his cutting deep into Kenpachi's.

'Damn… didn't focus enough on my Hierro…'

The two locked eyes.

"You've lost," whispered Ichigo.

Kenpachi's eyes widened as he fell over, sword split in two.

Then Ichigo passed out.

Yoruichi arrived, looking down at Ichigo and frowning.

"I suppose I'd best get you somewhere safe."

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes.

"Where am I…? I'm not dead?"

"Looks like you're awake."

"Yoruichi… you're okay. That's a relief."

"I'm better off than you," the cat replied.

"Did you rescue me? Thanks."

"You should thank your stubbornness as well; I'm surprised you made it."

"Injuries… oh yeah, I did get hit a lot… That's right!"

Ichigo shot up and gripped his torso.

"Ow…."

"You can't get up yet! Don't you know how bad your injuries are?!"

"I'll be fine, I can just…"

Ichigo tried to heal the wound; his flesh bubbled, hissed… and only partially healed.

"Damn… guess I don't have enough power left after that to heal myself just yet."

"At this rate it's going to take forever for your power to restore itself! It's like trying to drive a car that's running on fumes," Yoruichi scolded.

"But the others might be in danger…"

"Calm down," Yoruichi commanded, pouncing on Ichigo and knocking him back onto his back. "They're fine."

"Eh?"

"Your other friend, the hollow, has gone to gather them and ensure their safety since she's probably the best chance they have at beating a captain. Stay in the barrier and rest; you won't be able to save anyone until your Spirit Energy is restored and your injuries healed. Don't waste power with High Speed Regeneration either; you need your power to fight."

"You sure are strong by the way."

"What exactly do you mean, Ichigo?"

"Running around without getting hurt at all, then carrying me here with such a small body…"

"Oh. There's no problem once I return to my original form."

"I see, your original… Wait what?!"

"AH yes, I've never shown any of you before. No point in hiding it; I'll show you my true form."

There was a poof of smoke… and a nude, dark skinned woman stood before Ichigo.

"W…wha…?!"

She crossed her arms.

"Heh, you sure look surprised. I understand why. You probably thought I was a guy cause of how I sound as a cat. I really love turning back into my true form, always surprises everyone. Now…"

Yoruichi sat down next to Ichigo.

"I'll tell you how I carried you here. First I used this…" she held up a rod with a rope on it.

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ah sorry, sorry. I haven't worn clothes for so long I forgot."

She started putting on a turtleneck sweater of some sort.

"Though, surprisingly, you're quite innocent. Was that your first time seeing a girl naked? Hm?"

Ichigo was turned around and had his arms crossed.

"Shut up…"

He was beet red under his mask.

"Are you sure you don't wanna look? You probably won't see such a delicate body of a woman ever again!"

"I SAID SHUT UP! DON'T WORRY ABOUT MY FUTURE AND GET DRESSED!"

"You have no sense of humor. Do people often tell you that you're a boring man?"

"NOT EVEN ONCE! IT"S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS EVEN IF THEY DO! AND WHY AREN'T YOU WEARING ANYTHING ON YOUR LOWER BODY? DON'T PEOPLE NORMALLY START DRESSING FROM THE BOTOM?!"

Yoruichi sighed and finished dressing, holding the artifact in her toes.

"Anyways, I used this artifact to transport you here. By the way…"

"Is the wound on your stomach okay? Normally screaming that loud would cause the wound to open up."

Ichigo looked at the wound and scowled under the mask.

'That dumbass!'

"So with this," Ichigo nodded to the item. "you just put spiritual energy into it and fly?"

"Yeah! It's a very unique little artifact in soul society. You should feel honored."

"Why would it end up in your hands though? You shape shift, you cure wounds, and you have something like this. Who are you, Yoruichi?"


	5. Rescue

Chapter 5

Rescue

"Who are you, Yoruichi?"

"Well…!"

They both suddenly widened their eyes.

"This spiritual pressure… It's him!" exclaimed Ichigo, shooting up again.

"It's from the direction of the Sensakyuu," said Yoruichi.

Ichigo grabbed his sword and shot up out of bed.

"Where are you going Ichigo?!"

"Hanatarou and Ganju were going there! If I don't go who's going to save them?!"

Ichigo grabbed the artifact.

"FLY!"

* * *

Ichigo landed next to Rukia and collapsed the artifact.

'That hair…' thought Rukia. "Ichig-!"

Ichigo walked over to Hanatarou.

"You okay? Sorry, I didn't think you'd run into this by going on ahead. Where's Ganju?"

Hanatarou pointed to the body, crying.

"I see."

Ichigo turned to Rukia but looked over to the man on the bridge holding the hilt of a sword.

"Rukia… I came to save you."

He looked at her face. It was one of despair, fear, agony, suffering, sorry, Ichigo wasn't sure which, but it certainly wasn't joy.

"What's with that face? I came to rescue you, you should be happy!"

He had a jolt of realization.

"Is it this?" he pointed to his mask. "Forget it, doesn't make a damn difference."

"Idiot. I told you not to come. I told you… I forbade you to come! Now you're wounded and you're wearing… _that_ _thing_… You idiot!"

"So… You can get mad however you like later. After…"

Ichigo turned to face Byakuya fully.

"I defeat him!"

"Ichigo…"

"What? You're not going to tell me to run, are you? I'd never do that; do you know how hard it was to get here? No matter what you say it won't make any difference. I'm going to drag you out of here if I have to! I'm not going to listen to what you say, so don't bother!"

"What's that supposed to mean? You're ignoring the rescuee's opinions?! What kind of strange rescue attempt is this?!"

"SHUT UP! You're being rescued so stop babbling. You should crouch in the corner, shiver in fear, and scream 'help, help'!"

The two growled at each other, and then Rukia sighed and smiled.

"You never change, do you? You're still the same as before, ignoring everything I say…"

"Of course! You always nag and worry about me. You should worry more about yourself right now. Don't worry; I won't die yet."

Rukia gave him a concerned look.

"Don't look at me like that. I've gotten much stronger while you were away."

The man with white hair behind Byakuya was in shock.

"Byakuya… who is that?"

"He is a nobody. Compared to the person laying behind you, he is not important. He is just a drifter. That I will destroy. This is the end…"

Byakuya looked to Ichigo.

"I do not care if you have become a hollow, I do not care if you are a soul reaper. Your strength still pales in comparison to my own."

"You must be pretty confident in that; you just sat there while I stood here talking to Rukia for all that time."

"Who do you think you are talking to, boy? Why would I need to sneak up on the likes of you?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"You obviously don't know what you're dealing with here."

"Don't think so highly of yourself, insignificant scum!"

Suddenly there was a burst of spiritual pressure that forced Rukia and Hanatarou down to their knees.

Ichigo simply drew his sword.

"Oh. Not even a budge in front of this spiritual pressure… it seems that you have gained strength. I don't know how you got these strange powers, but you should have just returned to a normal human life or fled to Hueco Mundo, whichever is appropriate for your circumstances instead of throwing away your life that you luckily kept… How foolish!"

"I'm not throwing away my life… I'm going to defeat you and then go home. "

"I said… Don't think too highly of yourself, insignificant scum!"

Byakuya vanished, but Ichigo recognized what he was doing.

'Flash step!'

He brought his sword up to guard where he'd sensed Byakuya move to.

"You said I think too highly of myself eh? I saw you move every step, Byakuya Kuchiki!"

The two broke apart in opposite directions.

"So you are more improved than I thought. In that case…"

"Shut up."

Ichigo had been holding back his own spiritual pressure some and let it all lose.

If Rukia and Hanatarou weren't choking before they were now.

Byakuya had an expression on his face of pure shock.

"What's wrong? Where's all your talk now tough guy?"

Byakuya felt a bead of sweat drop down his face from the sheer weight of Ichigo's pressure.

"Look at that; I made you break a sweat."

Ichigo raised his arm and an orb of energy appeared in front of it.

"Cero."

The blast hummed and fired, slamming into Byakuya and launching him back some.

"I told you, I'm going to survive this and go home."

"I see. You are strong indeed, hollow. However, that will not be enough to save you."

He held his sword upright in front of him.

"Scatter-!"

Yoruichi appeared, tying a bandage around the blade.

"You-!"

"Yoruichi!"

"I haven't seen your face in a while," commented Byakuya. "It's been a few hundred years since your disappearance. Everyone thought you had died."

"Yoruichi, let me handle this! I can-!"

"Silence, Ichigo! You may be powerful but against his Shikai you would be decimated!"

Ichigo growled.

"I have to defeat him."

"By yourself?" Yoruichi scoffed. "Idiot."

Yoruichi struck Ichigo's wound which he'd forgotten to heal.

"GAH-! Wh-what are you…. Do…"

Ichigo passed out.

* * *

The two stared at one another for a moment before Ichigo vanished and reappeared next to Yoruichi, forcing her against a wall by her collar.

"Why did you just take me back?! The person with the highest chance of survival back there was me! This way Ganju and Hanatarou and even Rukia may have been killed!"

"Don't think so highly of yourself. You had no chance of surviving the fight. Nobody there could have survived a fight with Byakuya."

"You…!"

Ichigo got flipped onto the ground.

"Stop fighting, unless you want to open up your wound again."

Ichigo growled and glared at her from behind his mask.

"Shut up."

There was a hissing noise and his flesh bubbled and healed.

"To still be able to outrun Byakuya one person is as many as I can carry."

"Then why not take Rukia!?"

"It's true back there that no one could have beaten Byakuya, but in 3 days' time it might be possible for you. That's why I brought you back. Aside from Byakuya, Ukitake was also there. He's Rukia's superior and a very decent man. Even though Ganju is an intruder and Hanatarou is a traitor, he won't let them die, because they were trying to save Rukia. So don't worry, just make sure you get stronger. Then you can go and rescue everyone."

* * *

The two were in an open area underground, with rock formations dotting the landscape around them and dead trees here and there.

Ichigo drew his blade.

"First let me ask you something; have you ever noticed that your Zangetsu is always in its released form?"

"You mean like Kenpachi's sword? No wonder it's a lot bigger than other Zanpakto and won't change shape when I call its name."

He heard a scoff of disapproval from the use of "its" inside his head.

"So you didn't know after all. Then you probably also don't know that there's another level of release for Zangetsu."

Ichigo was shocked to hear this.

"Not just Zangetsu, all Zanpakto have 2 levels of release. The first is called Shikai, or "initial release". The second is "Bankai". One must be able to do both to become a Captain."

"Really?"

"Yes. In other words, every Captain can perform Bankai with one exception."

"Exception?"

"Kenpachi Zakarai. In the long history of Soul Society, he's the only one who's become a Captain without knowing his Zanpakto's name. His raw strength is not to be taken lightly even by the Gotei 13! You should know this clearly since you fought him head-on. The power and forms of Shikai and Bankai are dependent on the Zanpakto in question. They also vary according to the wielder's strength and training. In general however, one's power can grow 5 to 10 times greater."

"Ten times!?"

"Scary, isn't it? This is because even the most skilled Soul Reapers require at least 10 years to train."

"Hang on! I don't have…!"

"I know. It takes that long with the normal method, but even then it's dangerous. I will be using a different method, that will let you learn Bankai in 3 days."

She materialized a strange dummy seemingly from nowhere.

"What's that for?"

"This is a Tenshintai. It's a rare artifact of the Special Ops Division. This thing can forcefully materialize a Zanpakto Spirit in the real world."

"What does that have to do with Bankai?"

"Isn't it obvious? You need communication and synchronization with your Zanpakto to achieve Shikai. For the Bankai you need the materialization and submission of the Zanpakto. Materialization means the opposite of getting dragged into your Inner World during your conversations with it. Instead, you need to summon the Zanpakto Spirit into our world. It usually takes 10 years or more to achieve it. You fought Kenpachi to a draw, so I believe you subconsciously are at the materialization level. Just stab your Zanpakto into this thing and it'll materialize the Spirit. Then I'll use my power to keep it materialized. But you get one chance at this; the limit is three days. Before the time is up, you must beat Zangetsu into submission! If you cannot-!"

Ichigo stabbed the blade into the dummy.

"I don't want to know. There's only one way to end this, and that's to go all the way to the end."

There was a flash and Ichigo's sword was gone.

Standing behind him was the white "him".

The being lifted its mask and grinned.

**"Howdy, partner."**

Zangetsu noticed Yoruichi and seemingly drifted over to her.

**"And hello to you too," **he said in a somewhat suggestive voice.

Yoruichi simply struck him in the neck, causing his arm to go limp.

**"Yeah well fuck you too ya broad!"**

Zangetsu sighed and turned to face Ichigo.

**"Alright partner, I heard everything. Here's the deal…."**

Zangetsu slid his mask back on and put a hand on the ground, focusing.

Suddenly, hundreds of swords similar to Zangetsu's blade appeared around them in the ground.

**"One of these is th' real "me". Only it can defeat me. If you want to be the King then you have to find it before I kill you. Then you have to beat me! And one more thing."**

Ichigo heard a cracking noise as his mask shattered along with the rest of his "body". He looked down and he found he was wearing a traditional black Soul Reaper uniform.

**"No hollow powers."** Zangetsu raised a hand and charged a Cero. **"FOR YOU ANYWAY! HAHAHAAHAHHA"**

Ichigo swiftly dodged the attack and grabbed a blade, as Zangetsu did the same.

* * *

"Dammit!"

Ichigo tossed away another broken blade.

**"That's 18, partner."**

Zangetsu twirled his own blade by its cloth.

**"Gonna have to do better than that to beat me!"**

He slung the blade at Ichigo, who ran and grabbed a blade that looked like the sword he'd been using up until now.

'This has to be the real one!'

Ichigo brought it up to block… but was shocked as the blade shattered and he took a cut to the torso.

**"Ichigo, all the swords here are part of who you are. Fragments of your soul. The purpose of this is to get you to find your true fighting instincts! The one you just chose was your reliance on our blade! It's one of the weakest parts! If you can't find your own strength in your own damn soul, then you can kiss Bankai goodbye partner! Get off your ass! Fight me!"**

Ichigo barely managed to stand.

**"You ain't got the time to sit there and mope, Ichigo!"**

"No kidding!" Growled Ichigo.

Zangetsu moved his mask to the side, showing a look of surprise and approval.

**"Ohh, I like that fire in yer eyes, Ichigo! C'mon! Prove to me your power!"**

* * *

During all of this Orihime, Chad, Ganju, and Nel had managed to meet with Kenpachi, who showed interest in finding Ichigo again. Nel had wisely kept her powers down and hidden so as not to fight the Captain or draw attention to herself, and things seemed to be at least tolerable for the group…

* * *

**"51 swords partner."**

Zangetsu yawned and moved his mask again, frowning.

**"Hurry up partner, this is getting' boring!"**

Ichigo pulled yet another blade and charged.

Zangetsu swung his blade… and Ichigo blocked it.

**"Oh?"**

Ichigo ducked as the blades slipped apart, dodging a slash.

**"Now we're talkin!"**

Ichigo lunged but Zangetsu jumped up and dodged.

He leapt down and shattered the blade Ichigo had before backhanding him.

**"Dumbass. Don't look away from your enemy! That's your 52****nd**** sword!"**

"Damn… I was so close!"

Undeterred, Ichigo grabbed another sword.

* * *

**"Now THIS is a fight! Yer' makin' them swords last a lot longer Ichigo! I'm really excited! C'mon, keep fighting!"**

The two ran at one another… and Zangetsu reverted to the dummy.

"Eh?"

"Put it down, Ichigo. Day one's over."

**"Damn her… Just when it was getting good!"**

"Zangetsu doesn't seem too happy about you pulling the plug like that, Yoruichi."

"Don't worry, you two will go at it again tomorrow."

* * *

The two crossed blades again the next day, Ichigo refreshed and ready to fight, and Zangetsu all too eager to fight Ichigo again.

**"Not bad Ichigo! You-!"**

A hole burst in the roof and something hit the ground.

"I was wondering what you could be doing in this place. Is that your Zanpakto's true form? So you're hiding here and training for Bankai? Sounds interesting."

'That voice…!'

"Count me in."

Renji had arrived.

"Renji?!"

"Oi, why aren't you a hollow anymore? That doesn't just go away, y'know?"

**"Because I'm not lettin' him use his hollow powers for this training. Don't tell me y' can't tell by lookin' at me why he looks like a hollow most of the time."**

Renji noted the sprit's mask.

"I think I get it now. That's weird, Kurosaki, having a hollow as your Zanpakto. Anyways, I bet you're thinking 'what are you doing here?', right? The reason is simple. We don't have much time left, so I was looking for a place to train."

"No time? What do you mean?"

"Rukia's execution has been changed again. It takes place at noon tomorrow. I don't really want to admit it but the fact is I can't save Rukia at my level, so I came here to train. Don't worry, I won't get in your way. I've reached the stage of materialization of my Zanpakto's form I'm pretty close to Bankai myself. "

Renji's sword was unsealed and started smoking before a large ape with a snake for a tail appeared.

"I'll start training, okay?"

"Noon tomorrow? There's no way Ichigo can reach Bankai by then…" murmured Yoruichi.

"That's not good. You suggested this training method, so you shouldn't be giving up before everyone else!" Ichigo yelled at her.

"But Ichigo! What if you can't get Bankai by tomorrow?"

"I said it before: 'We can't waste time worrying about the 'what ifs'.' The deadline has been changed to noon tomorrow, so what? All we have to do is finish before noon tomorrow!"

* * *

Rukia prepared to die to the flaming beast in front of her, when suddenly a shadow was cast.

"Yo."

Ichigo had arrived with a cloak over his shoulders.

"Idiot! Why do you keep coming back?!"

"What?!"  
"You already know you can't win against my brother! You'll be killed! I made my decision! I don't need your help! GO HOME! IDIOT!"

Ichigo kept his sword held in place, blocking the instrument of Rukia's demise.

It let out a screech and readied for another strike.

"What's this?!"

"ICHIGO!"

"He's taking longer for this second attack… Whatever. Bring it."

Ichigo turned around.

"STOP IT ICHIGO! THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP IT A SECOND TIME! YOU'LL BE TORN TO PIECES!"  
Ichigo readied to strike but a cord of some sort wrapped around the neck of the flaming avian.

Another did the same on the opposite side and after a few seconds and some commotion below… the beast exploded.

Ichigo landed on top of the red frame above Rukia.

"What are you trying to do Ichigo?!"

"Obviously I'm gonna break this Execution Pole!"

Ichigo grabbed his blade by the cloth and twirled it over his head a few times.

"That's nonsense! This Soykyoku's-!"

"That's nothing."

Ichigo grabbed the blade.

"Shut up and watch this."

He stabbed his blade into the structure and a huge burst of power erupted from the tip, shattering the structure.

"'Don't help me, go home', 'don't make a fuss, you brat'. I said before I'll just keep rejecting your opinion. This is the second time, and again I wanna say 'I'm here to help you'."

Ichigo had his sword on his shoulder and Rukia under his left arm.

"Rukia."

"I won't say thank you… idiot."

"Yeah. I know."

Ichigo glared at Byakyua far below.

"I… want to ask, what are you going to do now? Is there any chance to disappear from here when there's so many people looking?"

"Run." Ichigo said.

"Impossible! The opponents are Captains! There's no way to run!"

"Then we'll beat them up first and then run away. Not only me. Orihime, Uryuu, and chad are here too. And Ganu and Hanatarou and Nel. I'll save everyone who helped me and run away together."

There were grunts from below and Rukia looked and was shocked.

"Renji?!"

"Rukia!" he yelled back.

"What a surprise! You're alive! Good…"

"Renji!" Ichigo yelled before lifting Rukia over his head.

"Wha…?"

"What?!"

"WAIT ICHIGO! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?!" yelled Rukia.

"YOU FOOL! DON'T YOU DARE-!"

"Catch her Renji!"

Ichigo threw Rukia at Renji

She and Renji both screamed loudly before Rukia impacted and sent Renji sliding a good ways back.

"You're such an idiot, Ichigo!" yelled Rukia.

"WHAT WERE YOU GONNA DO IF I MISSED, YOU BASTARD?!" screamed Renji.

"Get her out of here! Now! That's your job, Renji! Protect Rukia at all costs!"

Renji shifted his hold on Rukia and ran.

Three Vice Captains ran after them… but Ichigo vanished with a low hum and reappeared in front of them.

He then slammed his sword, tip down, into the ground.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" yelled the largest one.

The three released their blades… and Ichigo punched through the large one's mace, sending him down.

He shifted, grabbed the thin man's arm and directed an uppercut, knocking him out.

Then he turned and reappeared next to the woman, kicking her away before returning to his blade and drawing it just in time to block a strike from Byakuya.

"I can still see you, Byakuya Kuchiki!"

"Why do you try to save Rukia so many times?"

"That's what I should be asking you! You're her brother, right? Why don't YOU save her?!"

"What a trifling question. I can answer, but foolish people like you will never understand way. But now isn't a time for questions and answers. Let us fight!"

The two pushed away.

"There's only one way for me to choose. Kurosaki Ichigo, I will kill you. And Rukia, I will kill myself next time."

"I won't let you do that," said Ichigo, removing the cape. "That's why I'm here!"

The two brought their blades to meet one another again several more times before they broke apart, the landscape changed by their battle.

"Interesting," started Byakuya. "You are no longer simply using Sonido. Could it be you somehow are using both Sonido and Flash step? Regardless.. you are taking it easy, aren't you?"

"You've been casually analyzing my strength… is it really a good idea to only do that? ARen't you going to attack me? You haven't been able to scratch me once! Can it be this is the best you've got? Hurry up and use your Bankai. Earlier you said you were going to kill me, and then execute Rukia with your own hands."

"So…?"

"I don't like it! I'm going to use everything I have to defeat you! I'll beat you until you have no strength left! To execute your own sister with your own two hands? What a sick joke! No matter what reason you have, under whatever circumstances, don't ever say that in front of Rukia again. Use your Bankai! I will destroy it! Then I'll take Rukia and make you cry while apologizing to her!"

"What a shallow taunt, brat! No matter what you say, I will not change my mind about Rukia's fate… or yours. You want me to use Bankai? Don't forget your place, brat. It is a thousand years too early for you to become worth enough to die by my Bankai."

He held up his blade.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

Ichigo raised his blade and then swung it, sending out a wave of red and white energy that blew away the petals, cut off Byakuya's glove… and drew blood.

"What was that flash of light? Was that your Zanpakto's ability?"

"Yeah. The instant of the slash, it absorbs my spiritual energy and releases highly condensed spiritual energy at the tip of the blade, magnifying the slash attack and then it flies forward. That is Zangetsu's special power. I used to not be able to aim it properly. Then Zangetsu taught me how to use it. Its name is… Getsuga Tensho."

Ichigo stabbed his blade into the ground.

"I'll say it again, Byakuya Kuchiki… Fight me with your Bankai! I will definitely defeat you!"

"Piercer of Heaven? What an arrogant name. So be it. Since you desire so strongly my Bankai, witness it with your eyes and remember it well…"

Byakuya turned his sword upside down and dropped it.

"Don't worry. You won't regret it. Before you can do that… You will most certainly…"

Blades rose up behind Byakuya in two lines.

"…be rendered into dust in front of me. Bankai; Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

They exploded into the petals and chased Ichigo, who did his best to dodge and fight them off, swinging his sword and firing a Getsuga, which was blocked.

"The strength of Senbonzakura lies in its ability to attack with its countless many blades from all directions. The strength of your Zanpakto's ability is great, however…"

Ichigo lie in a bloodied heap on the ground, barely managing to hold himself up, his mask slit in a few places that quickly repaired themselves.

"…It is impossible to dodge Senbonzakura's attack using such a slow technique."

"By only using Shikai… It's impossible to beat Bankai… I totally underestimated you."

"Be careful in your choice of words, brat. You sound as if you have acquired Bankai."

"Yeah… That's exactly what I was implying, Byakuya Kuchiki!"

Ichigo stood up and healed only the most brutal of his cuts with High Speed Regeneration.

"What did you say?"

"You respond with a question? I know you heard me. You don't believe me, do you? So it doesn't matter if I repeat myself. If you refuse to believe my words… What about your own two eyes?!"

Ichigo brought his blade back in one hand.

"Watch carefully… This is my… BANKAI!"

Ichigo's power flared around him then he held his blade out in front of him with both hands, the bandage wrapping around his right arm.

"Ban…KAI!"

When the dust cleared, Ichigo stood healed, wearing a white coat with the white pants of a Soul Reaper Uniform holding a white blade that seemed like a normal katana. Instead of being more similar to a hollow, he more resembled a Soul Reaper. His skin was once more its normal peach color and his hair had shortened to its original length. However, he wore the same mask from before over his face and his eyes glowed gold underneath. He still had his hollow hole as well, along with tufts of fur around his wrists.

"Tensa Zangetsu."

"What is… That thing? That small object is Bankai?! Isn't that just the normal sealed form of your Zanpakto? I see… With the execution. With the Bankai. It seems that you really enjoy stepping on our pride. Then I shall carve on your body the penalty for violating our pride!"

Before Byakuya could react, Ichigo had his blade at Byakuya's throat.

Byakuya looked into the glowing diamonds that were Ichigo's eyes and felt something wet run down his throat.

Blood.

"Does that 'pride' thing have anything to do with Rukia's execution? IF so, then I'll step on it just as you said. Since that's exactly what I obtained Bankai for!"

Ichigo lowered his blade and locked eyes with Byakuya, as the blades of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi floated around them.

"Why did you move your blade away from my neck? Was it to show your confidence? Arrogance is often the undoing of a would-be victor. I will say it once more: That thing that you are holding… cannot be Bankai. It is impossible for something so small to be Bankai and it is impossible for a mere drifter to achieve Bankai. You will regret it after my next strike. You will regret not running my throat through with your blade when you had the chance. Miracles only happen once. Don't count on getting another… BRAT!"

Ichigo felt it, the raw power this form gave him. However, he could also feel a twinge of madness, something he wasn't used to. The urge to kill, to destroy, to draw blood, to go crazy and rip apart the person in front of him, to bathe in the blood of his enemy.

It had taken every ounce of self-control he'd had not to slit Byakuya's throat just then.

**"That's my bloodlust, ****_King_****. Bankai is the true form of a Zanpakto. By using Bankai you're drawing on my full power, and that means that yer' getting' a little bit of me in there with your own power! Give in to it, use your full power and crush him!"**

'I can't kill him, can you imagine what Rukia and everyone else would think of me? I understand you enjoy that kind of stuff Zangetsu, but I can't in this case! Please understand; I will make it up to you someday, but not today. Not with him. But I will win, and I don't intend to let him walk away without a scratch.'

Zangetsu frowned but sighed, annoyed.

**"Fine, but you'd better win and this had better be good! Don't forget, your hollow powers won't be as strong in Bankai, but you still have access to them! Just because you don't look like a hollow anymore doesn't mean you should pretend you aren't still part hollow! Now go get him!"**

Byakuya launched several streams of petals at Ichigo… who dodged all of them with ease.

Then he launched a high speed series of slashes around him, knocking all the petals away.

"You said miracles only happen once."

Ichigo appeared behind Byakuya in an instant.

"So what would you call it this time?"

Ichigo brought his blade down and slashed Byakuya's back.

However, he caught the blade and gripped it tight.

"I see… you take all the power of your Bankai and compress it into a small, condensed form. Then you use that power to preform hyper speed combat. That is the power… Of your Bankai. Very well then. This power of yours… I SHALL ERADICATE IT!"

Ichigo pulled back and slit Byakuya's right hand in the process, spilling more blood.

"Watch carefully, Ichigo Kurosaki! This is the form that forgoes all defenses an concentrates solely on the annihilation of the enemy. This is.. Senbonzakura's true form."

The petals surrounded them, forming a dome of sorts.

Suddenly hundreds of swords appeared around them in rows upon rows.

"Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Ichigo was shocked.

"Don't worry. These thousand swords will not strike you all together. I swore that this "Senkei" would only be used against a person I wished to slay personally."

A blade appeared next to Byakuya and he took it.

"You are the second person to ever see this."

"I'm honored."

"Let us begin, ICHIGO KUROSAKI!"

The two crossed blades yet again.

They trade blow after blow, blood flying from each, Ichigo only focusing on healing the worst wounds so that he could keep his speed up.

However, Ichigo noticed something:

'After he did that 'Senkei' thing his speed just kept going up. It's not a problem though, I can go faster too-!'

A blade in his face.

Ichigo moved just in time to receive a minor cut to his mask, which healed over. He opted not to waste power on the wound on his cheek however.

Suddenly Byakuya was at his throat, but Ichigo managed to drive the blade away.

"What's wrong? Your movements have become sluggish, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Really? From my point of view your sword is still slow, like it's not moving at all."

Byakuya called a second sword down that impaled Ichigo's foot.

"Shit…!"

"Hado #4." Byakuya put his finger to Ichigo's chest. "Byakurai."

The blast ripped through Ichigo's upper chest near the shoulder.

Ichigo was shocked at first but grabbed Byakuya's arm.

"Two can play at that game you bastard."

Ichigo repeated the action very close to Byakuya's shoulder and a red sphere formed.

"Cero."

The blast was so densely focused it had a similar effect.

"Also…"

Ichigo ripped the sword from his foot and it hissed, bubbled and healed.

"I can heal my wounds. You can't."

Ichigo focused as much power as he could to the wound in his shoulder and it slowly closed up.

'Crap… that ate up a lot of my power… What should I do Zangetsu?!'

**"Step aside, partner. Let me show you how to properly use our Bankai!"**

Ichigo passed out.

"It's over, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Byakuya brought his blade down… and it was caught.

**"Heh! Watch, Ichigo… I'll show you.. HOW TO USE OUR BANKAI PROPERLY!"**

The eyes of the mask became a deep red as opposed to their previous gold.

Zangetsu brought the blade down across Byakuya's chest.

"Who are you?!"

**"Me? I am who I am, that's all you need to know, buddy. Just know that I'm gonna kick your ass!"**

Byakuya jumped back but Zangetsu would have none of it.

He crushed the blade that he'd caught in his hand.

**"Ichigo, our Bankai was crushing your bones to dust! You weren't paying attention! Watch carefully Ichigo! I'll show you how it's done! Consider this a friendly lesson!"**

Zangetsu pulled back his arm and let loose a spiral of black energy that went at Byakuya.

Before the captain knew what was happening Zangetsu was at his flank, bringing his blade to bear, and fired another attack, causing a huge black and red explosion.

"Are you.. .the thing that made Kurosaki become a hollow?"

**"Maybe, maybe not. You don't need to know though, because I'm going to beat you so hard you'll be wondering if all of this was just a-!"**

'Move over.'

**'What?! But Ichigo, you'll-!'**

'I SAID move over! Please, let me finish this fight! If I don't I'll never be able to live with it!'

**'Tch. Fine. You owe me.'**

'Thank you, Zangetsu. I'll repay this debt somehow, someday. And thank you for teaching me; in this short time I've learned how to use Bankai much better than I would have if I'd fought alone.'

**'Che, you better be grateful Ichigo!'**

The eyes behind the mask faded from the red they'd become to a gold again.

"Sorry about that. Let's continue where we left off."

"Very well. I'll disregard what happened; neither of us has the strength to keep this up any longer. Therefore, let us end it with the next blow."

"Ok! By the way, can I ask you something again? Why don't you try to save Rukia?"

"If you defeat me, I will answer that question."

"Tsk."

"Senbonzakura: Shuukei Hakuteiken."

A blinding white energy appeared around Byakuya.

"Amazing! Sorry, but I don't have an awesome trick like that. Zangetsu's only taught me Getsuga Tensho, so the best I can do is put all my strength into one hit. Here I go… BYAKUYA KUCHIKI!"

Ichigo's sword flared black with a red glow.

'Focus the power… just like Zangetsu taught me…'

The two of them unleashed their attacks.


	6. Treachery

Chapter 6

Treachery

"You wanted to know… the reason for my support of Rukia's death. One, who commits a crime must suffer the consequences. If one is sentenced to death, the execution must take place. Those are the rules." Explained Byakuya as he and Ichigo stood facing away from one another.

Both were heavily wounded, and Ichigo didn't have enough power to heal himself anymore.

"Just for… a rule… you would kill someone… even if she is your sister?!"

"Are you referring to some sort of sibling bond? What a foolish notion."

"Say what?!"

"In light of the rules, all personal feelings have no value. Also, something as useless as emotions… I never had them to begin with. The Kuchiki family is one of the four noble families. We are the role models for all Soul Reapers. If we do not obey the rules, who will?"

"Sorry, but I still don't get it. If I was you… I would definitely fight the rules."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Your Liberalness shattered my blade. Therefore, I can no longer pursue Rukia. The victor of this battle… Is you."

He vanished.

"I won…? I WON!"

Ichigo let out a cry of joy… before realizing his legs could no longer hold him.

"Shit, I can't stand…"

He collapsed.

Or would have, had he not fallen back onto Orihime and hit her forehead with the back of his head.

With that he fell forward and clutched the impact area.

"Ichigo! Are you okay?! My head is hard as a rock, sorry! I was trying to catch you, but.."

"Orihime?!"

"For someone so covered in blood, you're surprisingly energetic, Ichigo."

"Uryuu! Chad! Ganju!"

Nel ran over and tackled Ichigo, hugging him in a friendly manner, albeit somewhat too tight.

"Ichigo you're okay! We were worried about you, I was worried! I'm glad you're not dead!"

"Um, Miss Nel, you're crushing him!"

Ichigo's masked jaw slightly opened and he let out a wheeze.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry! Don't die Ichigo I'm sorry!"

After she finally was removed from him, Ichigo fell to the ground on his back.

"Everyone's alright… that's good…"

"We're not perfectly fine, but compared to your injuries ours aren't worth noting," said Uryuu.

"What about you Orihime, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm completely fine! Even though I'm completely useless, Uryuu protected me! And then Kenpachi carried me! So I was never… In any danger… at all. But… But…"

She moved to sitting on her knees.

"I was just worried about you, Ichigo…"

She was slightly crying.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, I wasn't able to help you… Thank you Ichigo… for staying alive…I'm so glad… you're okay…"

Ichigo slid his mask to the side and revealed a soft, warm smile.

"Thanks… Orihime."

* * *

_Clang_

Steel met steel.

Ichigo had gotten Orihime to heal his wounds and restore his strength. Now he was the only thing standing between Rukia and Renji and Aizen's blade.

"Yo. Why are you crouching on the ground? Is Rukia that heavy? I've come to help, Renji!"

The blades separated.

"Ichigo…" started Renji.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry you had to come and save-!"

"What the…? You look pretty beat up considering that you were only carrying Rukia around. Was the load *that* heavy for you to run away with?"

"What are you implying? Aren't you a little wobbly yourself? Shouldn't you be wrapped up in a bed somewhere instead of coming here?"

"What?! Is that what you have to say to the guy who just saved your ass?!"

"ARE YOU STUPID?! I was going to thank you, but then you-!"

A muffled noise then a gasp as Rukia pushed away from Renji.

"Y-yo Rukia," Renji said.

"You okay?" asked Ichigo.

"FOOL! Were you trying to have me set a new record for holding my breath?!" she yelled as she punched Renji. "Pressing me against your chest with all your strength and chatting away, you nearly killed me moron!"

"Sorry."

Ichigo frowned and looked at Aizen.

"So he's Aizen?"

"Yeah."

"You still have enough energy to run, Renji?"

"I do, but I'm not running."

"What?!"

"I've got a plan. Zabimaru's broken form has its use! I'm going to fight! I'm sure you know too… it's impossible just to run. I'm not saying we have to beat them but unless we immobilize them somehow they'll just drag us back here without breaking a sweat."

"Fine then. Let's do this!"

Renji brought up his blade and then brought it down.

"Higa Zekkou!"

Zabimaru's blades rose up and sped at Aizen.

Ichigo darted at full speed and delivered a slash….

…Which Aizen stopped with one finger.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to Aizen's torso before firing the strongest Cero he could muster…

…Before being slashed across the stomach, leaving a very deep gash.

"Oh my! I meant to completely cut off everything below the waist, but was my swing too shallow?"

Ichigo fell… right before Renji.

Aizen approached Rukia and Ichigo madly poured power into the wound, the wet meat starting to bubble and hiss as it slowly repaired itself.

'Heal! Heal! Dammit body, heal!'

"Now get up, Rukia Kuchiki."

Aizen grabbed her collar and pulled her up.

"Oh I see. Your whole body became limp from my spiritual pressure? Don't worry about it. It's just easier for me if you can walk on your own…"

Ichigo's wound had mostly healed, but he was still bleeding profusely.

He forced himself to get up.

"How pitiful! You're still conscious!"

"Ha….Hah…."

"You must really hate the fact your strength doesn't match the level of your vitality. Thought it would be best to stop that recklessness. Right now your spine is-!"

Ichigo stood, the wound nearly fully healed now, raw muscle still somewhat visible.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me you bastard… Now… Let… Go of Rukia!"

Ichigo unsteadily readied his blade.

"You may have been able to heal the wound I gave you, but you have nothing left; it doesn't matter how much spirit you have, you simply cannot gather the strength to fight me. Your mission is over."

"Mission?!"

"Yes. All along I knew you'd come; I knew the point of entry. I knew you'd appear in the Western Rukongai. I therefore dispatched regular patrols in the vicinity so that the walls would be lowered immediately after you arrived. Then I sent the 3rd and 9th division to the inside of the wall and sent gin to keep you out. If you thought that there was a captain patrolling on the other side of the door, the only perceivable method of entry would be through Kuukaku Shiba's cannon. That would result in a dramatic entrance of invaders who survived a fight against a captain! Therefore, all of the Soul Reapers in Soul Society would inevitably focus their full attention on you. The actual invasion was truly phenomenal. Thanks to you, even when a Captain was murdered it didn't seem like that big of a deal in comparison. It was really easy to make our moves."

"How did you know that we'd land on the Western Rukongai?"

"That's an odd question. Was there any other possibility? Kisuke Urahara's referential location was in Western Rukongai, so the only place his personal dimensional gate could take you was Western Rukongai. "

"What?!"

"Why are you reacting as such? Aren't you his subordinate? Didn't you come back here to take back Rukia Kuchiki because Kisuke Urahara ordered you to?"

"What the hell?"

"I see… So you know nothing. That's fine. Since it's all over, I'll tell you about it. Do you know about the Soul Reaper's four basic forms of combat? They are Sword Skills, hand-to-hand combat, flash step, and Kido. All of them are similar in that they each have a limit. No matter how much innate capability you have, you can never overcome the limitation of a Soul Reaper's Spiritual Body. That's where the growth stops. In other words, that's a Soul Reaper's limit. Is there no way to break that boundary? Is there no way to grow and surpass your innate limitation? There is but, only one way. And that is a Soul reaper-Hollow hybrid."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

'That's… what I am…!'

"Hollow-Soul Reaper, Soul Reaper-Hollow. When the boundary is removed, you can create a new existence capable of reaching new heights. The concept has existed in theory for a long time. I focused on Soul reaper-Hollow and I had successfully created several hollows that were close to soul reapers. Hollows that could hide their Spiritual Pressure. A hollow that could make Zanpakto vanish, and even fuse with Soul Reapers. But all of them were trash and not worth of being called breakthroughs. Other researchers are bound by stupidity and morality, so no one has ever r made any sort of breakthrough either. No one except Kisuke Urahara. He created a substance that reacts beyond the conventional physics of Soul Society. It can instantly dissolve the barrier between Hollow and Soul Reaper. The name of this substance is Hogyoku. It's an extremely dangerous material. He probably thought so too, because he tried to destroy it. However, he could not find a way to destroy it, so in desperation he did something else. That was… put a barrier around the Hogyoku and bury it within the depths of a person's soul. Figured it out yet?"

'Is that why I'm…?'

Aizen looked down to Rukia.

"The place he chose to hide it in… was you, Rukia Kuchiki."

"W..what?!" asked Ichigo.

"By the time I figured this out, you had already gone missing in the real world," Aizen said to Rukia. "I knew intuitively that this was all Kisuke Urahara's doing. A Gigai is made up of high density spiritual matter and is used to temporarily contain a recovering Soul Reaper. Therefore, it is usually very easy for soul society to locate Gigai. Yet the lost track of a Soul Reaper after she entered a Gigai? That should be impossible. However, Urahara developed a type of substance that did not contain spiritual matter and because he created an untraceable Gigai using that special substance, he was sentenced to exile. There was another reason for his exile: that particular Gigai caused the spiritual power of the Soul Reaper inside of it to deteriorate, so the Soul Reaper that entered it could never recover their power. Their control over the Gigai would become dull and eventually they'd lose all of their Spiritual Power and then change from a Soul Reaper into a normal human spirit. Don't you see? He wasn't trying to help you. He was actually making you a human so that he could hide his Hogyoku forever. Fortunately you were discovered a few months later. I immediately went to the Central 46 chambers and-!"

_THUD_

A large, canine-faced being landed behind him.

"AIZEN!"

A large blade came down towards Aizen… who stopped it with his hand.

"I haven't seen that for a while… your face that is. Did you have a change of heart of some sort, Komamaura?"

"How can you still laugh Aizen?!"

A large first went at Aizen.

"For your lies and betrayal of all of us, I shall give you no mercy!"

Tousen appeared behind him.

"And you Tousen, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Silence.

"Nothing at all?! How disappointing Tousen. BANKAI!"

Aizen was instantly in front of Komamaura.

"Hado 90: Kurotsuchi."

Komamaura fell.

"Now then," Aizen returned to Rukia and grabbed her restraining collar. "My apologies, I was in the middle of talking to you, wasn't I? SO Rukia Kuchiki, when I found you in the human world, the first thing I did… was assassinate the entire Central 46."

"Eh?"

"You've probably heard something like this from Isane: 'Sousuke Aizen faked his death to move in secrecy and then he murdered the Central 46'. That was incorrect. I butchered the Central 46 as soon as we found you. Then I used Kyouka Suigetsu in the "central Underground conference room" to create the illusion of the Central 46 being alive and well, holding a meeting, so that even if someone intruded they wouldn't notice anything wrong. However, without permission from someone on the inside, not even captains may enter the conference room. So the three of us took turns going inside to play the role of the Central 46 and giving out orders to achieve our goals. To ensure your capture I assigned the task of your retrieval to those two in the 6th Division. To keep you from becoming human, I ordered the immediate destruction of that gigai. As to completely evaporate your souls so that I could retrieve the Hogyoku inside you, I decided to use Soukyoku for your execution. The only times that we left the conference room unguarded were the few hours before and after each of the 2 captains' meetings. I have been in the conference room ever since I feigned my death. Because of the probability of your group causing the execution to fail."

Ichigo drowned out the remained of Aizen's speech right before he watched Aizen stab his hand into Rukia's chest and pull out a small crystalline orb.

The hole in Rukia's chest closed up to Ichigo's relief.

"Oh… the recipient is unharmed? What an incredible technique this is! Unfortunately, you are no longer of any use to me. Kill her, Gin."

"Can't be helped. Kill em' dead.. Shinsou."

Ichigo watched in horror, expecting Rukia to die… but instead seeing Byakuya with a sword in his chest and Rukia in his arm.

"Brother…!"

The blade retracted and Byakuya fell to his knees.

"Brother! Why did you save me?! Why?!"

Aizen was about to draw his blade… when two blurs appeared next to him.

"What a nostalgic face!" Aizen remarked.

"Don't move. If you move even one muscle…" started Yoruichi.

"You'll lose your head," finished Soifon.

"Very well."

Suddenly 3 large beings appeared in the city below.

"Even those three are traitors?!"

"What will you do now? Not even you two can come after me while fighting them at the same time, can you?"

Suddenly the fourth guardian appeared to fight the others with a woman in a white cloak on his shoulder.

"Kuukaku!"

"Yo Yoruichi! I got really bored, so I decided to drop by after talking a walk."

She turned to the giant.

"Let's do it, Jidanbou!"

"Right!"

Within minutes Aizen and Gin were surrounded.

Suddenly Aizen laughed.

"It's time."

"What's so funny?" asked Soifon.

"Get away!" yelled Yoruichi.

Everyone looked up and saw the sky tear open to reveal…

..Gillians.

Lights shot down and surrounded them.

Ichigo removed his Bankai and immediately hollowfied.

The stress of the Bankai no longer on him, he moved as fast as he could to attack one of them.

'More power, maybe I can stop Aizen escaping!'

Ichigo bit into the one that was releasing a beam over Aizen and devoured it.

However, another simply did the same while two more fired Ceros and forced him to back off.

"Shit!"

Ichigo landed and pounded a fist on the ground. His friends ran over to him.

"You tried Ichigo, that's all you could do," said Nel. "That's Negacion; Gillians can use that to rescue their allies. Once they were in that light it was impossible to stop them from escaping."

Ichigo looked up at her, ragged orange hair hanging over his shoulders.

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Show me where to hunt. I have to become stronger."

Ichigo stood up again.

He looked to his friends.

"guys.. I'm going to go again. I'll be back, but… I have to get stronger. What if Aizen comes after someone else next time? I need to be able to defeat him. I've reached the peak of my Soul Reaper powers. Now…" he turned and finished quietly "I have to do the same for my hollow powers."

He put his blade on his back.

"I'll try to make it quick. I promise."

He felt a hand on his shoulder… before he was knocked out cold.

"Sorry Ichigo, you aren't ready to go back there yet. You need to recover," apologized Nel.

She hefted him over her shoulder.

"Where should I take him to get him properly healed?"

* * *

One week had passed.

Ichigo walked down the streets of Soul Society, having just narrowly escaped Kenpachi's wrath.

"MY feet hurt! Damn that Kenpachi! He really went all out chasing me! His Spiritual Pressure is still scary as all hell! To think I actually beat him, I don't even believe it myself…"

He noticed that he was getting odd looks from some people nearby, but continued on.

'I guess given my appearance that's to be expected though.'

Ichigo then realized something.

"Oh crap. I left Zangetsu back in the 11th Division."

"Ichigoooooooooooooo!"

Ichigo turned around and saw Orihime running over to him.

"Orihime? What's up? And where'd you get that outfit?"

She had a concerned look on her face.

"She's… She's gone… I can't find Rukia…anywhere in the city…"

Ichigo reached out with his senses but couldn't feel Rukia anywhere.

"I think I know how to find her."

* * *

Ichigo burst through a window… right over Byakuya.

"RENJI!"

"SHUT UP!"

The two butted heads.

"What the hell do you want? I was about to say a really cool line!"

"O-oh… sorry. Rukia… do you know where she went?"

"Huh? What happened to Rukia?!"

"Oh, well if you don't' know then it's alright."

Ichigo started to climb back out but noticed Orihime next to him.

"Ichigo, don't you know it's dangerous to climb up a third-story window?"

"Wha?! You too… but look at how you got up here."

Ichigo turned back to the two inside.

"Sorry Renji, Byakuya! We gotta go!"

"Sorry to disturb you!" apologized Orihime.

The two ran off.

They passed an open window showing the Vice Captain of the 10th Division, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Ichigo! Orihime! You guys want some? It's good sake!"

She was waving a bottle around as she said this.

"Maybe later!" Ichigo replied.

"We're underage!" answered Orihime making an "x" with her arms over her head.

"We have tea too… too bad."

Ichigo and Orihime heard yelling as they ran off.

"Ichigo, didn't you want to ask Rangiku about Rukia?"

"Nope. If Renji doesn't know I doubt anyone else would. You searched around the Seireitei, right? Then she could only be in one place!"

Ichigo had worked out where she was.

* * *

"I knew I'd find you here."

Ichigo and Orihime walked up behind Rukia, who was next to Ganju and Kuukaku.

"Ichigo… Orihime…"

"Looks like you're done talking. Let's go; they said they'd open the gate to our world for tomorrow. You aren't fully recovered yet, right? Get some rest for tomorrow."

"Yeah… I will… but first I want to tell you…" she turned. "I've decided to remain here."

Ichigo close his eyes and smiled under his mask.

'Zangetsu… can you do what you did when we were training? Please?'

**"Che, fine. Have yer sappy emotional moment."**

The mask cracked and shattered as did the rest of the hollowfication and Ichigo remained standing with a normal black uniform and short hair.

"Okay… that's good."

"Wha…?"

"If you've already made up your mind… if that's what you really want… then the best thing for you would be to stay here."

'I remember… that was the reason I wanted to save you in the first place.'

"Ichigo you look normal again!" commented Orihime.

"It's not permanent. My hollow powers are still the dominant ones. I just asked Zangetsu for a favor is all."

He looked back to Rukia.

"I wanted Rukia to be able to remember the last time she saw me like the first, not as a hollow."

'Thank you, Zangetsu.'

**"Don't get all mushy with me partner. You have a promise to keep!"**

'Right… to get stronger. Once we deal with Nel, we'll go become stronger.'

Ichigo and Orihime turned and left.

Once Rukia could no longer see Ichigo, his mask reformed and he hollowfied.

'Goodbye Rukia.'

* * *

"Ichigo!"

The orange haired hollow turned to see a man with white hair.

"Ukitake…"

"Take this."

He handed Ichigo a small badge with a skull on it.

"What is it?"

"A substitute Soul Reaper badge. It will show you're allowed to use your powers in the world of the living, and allow you to leave your body whenever you wish."

"Thanks…"

Ichigo had arrived earlier than the rest along with Nel.

"Let's go Nel."

She nodded and opened Gargantua.

The two entered and it closed behind them.

* * *

The hole opened up in front of Urahara's shop, and right in front of the man in question.

"Ichigo! I was expecting you to be with the rest of the group through the Senkaimon!"

"No. I already said my goodbyes to Rukia. I have things to do anyway."

Urahara walked past Ichigo.

"You heard… didn't you? About me?"

"Yeah."

Urahara kneeled and took of his hat, bowing.

Ichigo turned at the sound of the gesture.

"I'm really, really sorry."

Ichigo sighed.

"Don't do that. It's okay; I never said I was pissed or anything. It's not like you did something bad and regardless of what you're thinking, you helped me and my friends get stronger and get to Soul Society. I'm grateful for your help, and I'm sure they are too. So don't be sorry."

Urahara stood up.

"I see…"

"Actually, can I ask you one question? Is the reason you didn't tell me the truth is because you thought I'd run away after learning it?"

"Yeah…" Urahara pulled out his fan and put on a goofy expression. "You're correct!"

Ichigo elbowed the man in the jaw.

"I thought so!"

"That… elbow thrust… so unexpected…!"

"By the way… You should apologize to Rukia. Even though she'll probably just say what I said."

"Alright."

"Once you've picked up my friends, see if you can do something to help Nel, maybe get her a proper change of clothes instead of these rags."

"And what are you going to do, Ichigo?"

"I made a promise to Zangetsu, that when all of this was over I'd go get stronger. On top of that, if Aizen tries something I'm going to need to be strong enough to beat him."

"You don't mean…"

"I do. I'm going to enhance my Hollow powers and become a Vasto Lorde like Nel."

Urahara turned and nodded.

"Alright. Be careful Ichigo."

"Thanks hat n' clogs."

* * *

Ichigo had altered Kon of his plans and of Rukia's decision.

Now, he was listening to the cries of Adhudjas as he tore into their flesh and devoured them.

At first it had been horrific, but he had become desensitized.

He just wanted to finish this and get back to his friends and his life.

Occasionally he'd drop into the real world and check to make sure his friends weren't in danger, but he spent most of his time fighting and eating hollows. Those that weren't worth eating would be purified by his blade.

**"We're close Ichigo! Wait… That spiritual pressure…"**

"Aizen…?! What's he doing here?!"

**"Avoid him. We need to evolve; we can't fight him as we are now, and he can sense us."**

'Fine.'

* * *

Ichigo didn't even need to look anymore; he could _feel_ the air around the blade being displaced.

He raised his own blade and blocked.

A man with blonde hair stood next to him, sword crossed with Ichigo's.

"So ya lost control to yer hollow before we could get to ya? Shame, ya might have been pretty powerful."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ichigo said matter of factly. "'We'? Before you could get to me? Losing control to my hollow? Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter, cause I'm going to purify you. Maybe you'll be a tough soul reaper in the next life."

Ichigo vanished in a blur and grabbed the man's sword arm, gripping hard and preventing him from moving without losing an arm.

"I didn't 'lose control' to anyone, this is just how I look after Urahara helped me get my powers back. Well… after a couple of upgrades."

"Upgrades…? Don't tell me you've…?"

"I have. Now I can stop whoever threatens my friends and family. This is… my power."

Ichigo sensed his friends coming; apparently it was a good idea to leave his pass with Kon so his friends could sense hollows.

'Although it shouldn't be sensing…!'

He heard a noise and something leapt at him and the blonde man.

Ichigo released the blonde man and brought his blade down on the hollow, cutting its mask and killing it in one stroke.

'That was… so fast… I didn't even see him strike!' thought the blonde man.

"Ichigo? Shinji?"

Ichigo looked at Orihime, who was with Chad.

"Wait, you know this guy?"

Shinji used the distraction to escape Ichigo's grip and flash step away.

"Yeah, he was the new transfer student in our class!"

"I think he's a bit more than that," Ichigo stated.

"You're pretty sharp, Ichigo. I'm a lot more than that. I'm what they call a Vizard. Thought you were one too. That's why I was here, to try to recruit you into our ranks and help you control that hollow of yours."

"He's not a hollow, he's my Zanpakto!"

"Then you aren't one of us. Still… you're more hollow than Soul Reaper. Might be better to kill ya so you don't lose control."

"Try it."

Shinji placed his hand in front of his face… and a mask appeared.

He raised a fist and a red orb charged.

Ichigo sonido'd back and lowered his new horns, charging his own Cero, which easily overpowered Shinji's.

"This is your last warning Shinji or whatever your name is, back off before I have to hurt you."

Shinji narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, alright. But I'll be waiting for you t' come crawlin to us when yer hollow half gets too strong to control."

He vanished.

Ichigo sonido'd over to his friends.

"Anyone got a mirror? I haven't seen myself yet."

"…Terrifying." Commented Chad.

Orihime was trying not to seem nervous or scared but was doing a poor job of hiding it.

"I see. Well I'd better go get my body back. Guessing Kon is in it right now?"

"Yeah," answered Chad.

Thankfully nobody could actually see Ichigo, so the swift act of taking the badge, popping out the pill and entering his body wasn't really noticed.

He stretched a little; it felt good to be back in his own body. No mask, no claws, no fur, just skin and hair.

He slipped Kon into his pocket and listened to the lecture.

* * *

Ichigo cut down the simple hollow.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Why are you dressed like a soul reaper, hollow!?"

"Because I'm a soul reaper, idiot. Who are you?"

"Eh? M-me I'm Zennouke Kuruadani! I'm the Soul Reaper had-pi to replace Rukia Kuchiki who got arrested for some crime! Did_ that _impress you?!"

Ichigo fished out his badge.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper. Here's the seal of approval."

"What's that ? Seal of approval? I've never even heard of it!"

"What the hell? This thing's useless."

Suddenly Ichigo felt a powerful pressure behind him and turned to block a strike.

"Shinji again. What did I tell you last time? Leave me alone!"

"Don't make a ruckus Ichigo."

Ichigo sensed a powerful spiritual pressure… next to his body.

"I don't have time for this, Shinji. If you want to fight me or whatever do it later."

"Caaaan't do that Ichigo!"

Ichigo then sensed another power near Uryuu.

"I really don't have time for this, so either you leave me alone or I'm going to kill you where you stand! My body and my friend are both in danger, and I think I'm fast enough to save them both! But you're in my way! So move!"

Ichigo's spiritual pressure flared and his voice got more watery than it had been.

"Or I WILL kill you!"

Ichigo charged a cero between his horns and fired it, launching Shinji back.

"Consider that a warning shot."

Ichigo vanished in a blur.

* * *

By the time he'd reached Uryuu, the hollow had been killed.

Standing next to Uryuu was a man in white.

Ichigo rested his hand on the hilt of his blade.

"Who're you?"

The man summoned a small bow and fired an arrow, which Ichigo swiftly dodged.

"I asked you a question."

Another arrow.

"Fine. Don't answer me. I have other things to be doing right now anyway."

Ichigo turned and another arrow flew at him… which he caught and crushed in his bare hand.

"Don't."

Ichigo vanished.

* * *

As he ran towards the pressure by his body, Ichigo sensed another spiritual pressure also heading to intercept.

They arrived at the same time.

"D…Dad?!"

The soul reaper looked at Ichigo like he'd seen a ghost.

"I..chigo?"

Ichigo sonido'd down to his father.

"This is… Awkward to say the least, isn't it? Why are you a Soul Reaper? HOW are you a Soul Reaper!?"

Ichigo looked to his left, seeing the monster towering above them.

"And what the HELL is that?!"

"Back off! I'm the one who's gonna kill Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned to face the being.

"Still want to kill me?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

"Or try?"

"I'll kill you all right; I'll have revenge for the disgrace you gave me!"

'Wait… he's got a human face…. His mask is partially removed… And… I recognize…?!'

"Grand Fisher?!"

"So you recognize me! Good, you will know who killed you! Watch, as I show you my power!"

The top half of his mask shattered.

"I am an -!"

Ichigo vanished and reappeared in front of Grand Fisher's face.

"Die."

Ichigo charged a Cero and blew a hole clean through Grand Fisher's "head".

Ichigo watched the titanic body fall and landed next to Kon and his father.

"What was he?"

"An Arrancar, a hollow who's removed their mask and gained Soul Reaper powers."

"Wait, that's like Nel!"

"Nel?"

"Ah yeah, I met this Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo who didn't want to fight, so I suggested she remove her mask to look more human and she became a human with a sword and mask. She looks nothing like this though…"

"I see. Ichigo… Why do you look like that?"

"Because of my Zanpakto I guess. He's got a mask too and looks like a white version of "normal" me. His name's Zangetsu."

"I see…"

"More importantly, why are you dressed like a Soul Reaper, Dad!?"

"I'll tell you someday Ichigo. I need time to figure out how best to explain it."

"Okay, if you say so. Tell me whenever you're ready, old man."

"Oh my."

Ichigo turned and saw Urahara.

"It's already over. Here I thought Isshin would have to finish the job."

"Urahara," said Isshin.

"Long time no see."

"You're as good as ever, Isshin. I'm relieved."

"What's with this seriousness all of a sudden?"

"Welllllll if you became weaker and blamed me for it that would be problematic."

"Oh really? Don't worry. If I became weak I wouldn't blame you. I would just accept it."

"So how does it feel to take the form of a Soul Reaper that you abandoned 20 years ago?"

"So-so."

"Did you notice?"

"Yeah."

"They contacted him."

'Wait…'

"Urahara?! You know that Shinji guy?!"

Isshin turned to Ichigo.

"The Vizards are a criminal group of ex-Soul Reapers who use forbidden spells to acquire the powers of hollows. We never found their base of operations nor uncovered their goals."

"I knew something was off with that bastard."

"IF they contacted you then…"

"Yeah," Isshin agreed. "They're preparing for the battles ahead. Just like what we're doing. They must have felt the sudden growth of Arrancar."

"Hang on, you don't think Aizen might have something to do with this, do you?"

Isshin and Urahara traded looks.

"How would you know about that, Ichigo?" asked Urahara.

"When I was…" Ichigo paused and cleared his throat. "…feeding, I sensed him, but Zangetsu told me to keep my distance cause we couldn't take him yet."

Isshin nodded.

"He's probably using the Hogyoku... to create Artificial Arrancar."


	7. Arrancar

Chapter 7

Arrancar

"Artificial…?"

Urahara nodded.

"That one was fairly powerful, but it was an incomplete prototype. Aizen's probably wondering "How well can one at this level fight?', so he created that prototype to observe its performance. Right now they're weak, but the Hogyoku is immensely powerful so very soon he'll finish his studies… He'll lead an army of Arrancar to take over the Menos Grande then emerge from the darkness to destroy our world."

"What will we do then?" asked Isshin.

"Stop him of course," said Ichigo as if it were obvious.

"Ichigo, I don't think you understand what I'm saying; he's building a group of beings just as strong as or more powerful than you are now. At this point though, I suppose everyone is going to take action against them."

Ichigo frowned under his mask and crossed his arms, leaning against a nearby lamp post, deep in thought.

* * *

"Good morning Ichigo!" Two voices said at once.

Shinji acted as if nothing had happened, much to Ichigo's surprise.

"Good morning… Um… Shinji, wasn't it?" Orihime greeted the blonde.

"Ah! You remembered my name! Morning Orihime!"

The man spontaneously hugged Orihime in greeting.

Ichigo put on a somewhat annoyed expression as Keigo yelled.

"What are you doing?!"

"What? You're noisy. Who are you?"

"Who do you think you are? Just hugging her like that as if you've known her a long time! I…I've known her longer than you! Remove your hands! She doesn't like that!"

"You're an idiot. If she disliked it, she would have either cried or hit me already. If she's had no reaction that mean she's okay with it, right Orihime?"

"What's with that cocky attitude?! You're the assailant here! Right? I'm right, right?"

A hand found itself on Keigo's shoulder.

"Calm down. You have reacted appropriately…" Chizuru replied. "Leave the rest to me, Keigo."

She put on a crazed smile.

"Orihime is a nice girl who wouldn't show her displeasure on her face easily… if an idiot forcefully hugs her and doesn't even know something like that, that idiot doesn't deserve to live…! With my own two hands, I SHALL BRING JUSTICE, AND BUTCHER THIS CURSED PIG! CERTAIN-DEATH CHIZURU JYE..!"

Ichigo calmly stood up and grabbed Shinji's shirt and pulled him to the door.

"Let's go outside a sec, Shinji."

Ichigo's classmates were confused.

Ichigo slammed Shinji into the railings outside.

"That hurrrrt! Why are you so pissed? It's not like Orihime's your girlfriend or anything. I Doubt someone like you is capable of getting chicks like that."

"That isn't the point here you asshole! I'm telling you to apologize when we get back!"

"And that's why you're not one to be preaching," Shinji replied.

"Shinji why are you still coming to school?!"

"What are you talking about? It's every student's duty to go to school."

"Didn't you come here to try and convince me I'm under my 'hollow's' control or something? TO get me to join you guys? I already told you to forget it, so why are you still here?!"

"Idiot. Do you think I'm going to give up after 2 days? I'm a very persistent person. I'll keep bugging you until you nod your head and realize the truth. It's too late. Once you've come this far you can't be a normal soul Reaper. Like it or not, you're practically one of us already. Orihime, the big guy, the four-eyes, even those Soul Reapers, you think they're your friends, don't you? You're wrong. You may be friends now but if you keep going you'll get overtaken by that hollow in your head and lose your mind. When it happens it's game over. It'll destroy everything; your friends, your future, and yourself. Everything will get ground to bits. You've only been helping it; by becoming what you are now you've given that hollow ample power to take over your body and soul. Come with me, and I'll teach you how to keep your sanity in check."

Ichigo tossed him to the floor and went back into the classroom.

Keigo approached Ichigo.

"Welcome back! Wanna go hang out~?"

"Sorry, I have to do something. It's important. Maybe tomorrow."

Keigo whined.

* * *

"Welcome back, Ichigoooooo-!"

Ichigo blocked the strike from his father but looked him in the eye, the look saying "I've got a lot on my mind right now, can this wait?"

Ichigo let his father's elbow go and walked past him.

"I'll be in my room until dinner."

Ichigo entered his room and put down his bag on the back of his chair.

"Kon, I need to focus so can you keep quiet for a bit?"

"What's the big deal, Ichigo?"

"I just need to focus, so shut up!"

"O-okay…"

Ichigo sat on his bed and crossed his legs, closing his eyes.

'Zangetsu…'

He reached out and felt himself falling before opening his eyes again, this time in his inner world.

To his shock, it was the old man, not the white "him" that was there.

"Old man, what're you doing here?"

"When you are in your physical body your appearance is not that of a hollow, therefore the source of your hollow power will not be dominant. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to the White guy. Shinji said some stuff that we need to talk about." Ichigo had a look of realization. "Oh right, I remember adding a greenhouse type place, you enjoying that? Given my inner world is a city, that's the best I could do…"

The old man nodded.

"I am grateful you heeded my request, Ichigo. However, I have another; do not let it rain. When you despair or fear, it rains in this world, and I do not like the rain."

"Right, well I'd guess that happened recently, yeah?"

The old man nodded.

Bits of white cloth appeared from the old man and the White Ichigo appeared, sliding his mask away.

**"You rang partner?"**

"It's about what Shinji said."

Zangetsu frowned.

**"Oh."**

"Don't bullshit me Zangetsu; do you intend to do what he said?"

**"Yes, if it comes to the point that I feel you no longer have the right to be King of this world."**

Ichigo tensed.

**"However, as it stands yer' doin a fine job. Yer' strong partner, plenty strong enough fer me t'call you king. Just don't get lazy!"**

Zangetsu motioned for Ichigo to stand on the window he was on and Ichigo did so warily.

Suddenly the world reversed and they were in what appeared to be Ichigo's bedroom.

In fact, it was Ichigo's bedroom.

**"Might want to leave the body so yer sisters don't hear you talkin' to nobody, partner."**

Ichigo grabbed his pass and popped out of his body.

To his surprise, he wasn't a hollow, bar a mask.

He looked at it in the window and saw it had 2 vertical stripes, one over each eye.

**"Now," **Zangetsu made himself comfortable in Ichigo's chair. **"Let's talk. I'm bored."**

"What do you want to talk about?"

**"I just told you partner. I'm bored."**

"You want to fight?"

**"Obviously, but not just that. I want more."**

"What do you mean?"

**"What I want isn't what you want, partner. I want more. I want to experience what you experience on a daily basis. I'm not like a normal Zanpakto partner. I want to live."**

"What do you want me to do about that? There isn't anything I can do to give you your own life or anything!"

Zangetsu held up his index finger

**"Once a week, any day of my choosing, I want full control. I want to have 24 hours of complete freedom to do what I want. Anything at all. Talk to whoever, do whatever, say whatever. Whether the people I talk to know it's me or think it's just you acting weird is all you partner. Seems pretty fair, right? One day out of your week as thanks for all I've done for you?"**

Ichigo thought about this.

"Can I trust you?"

**"Are you asking that because ****_you _****don't think you can or because of what that bastard Shinji said?"**

"Mostly the latter. You've done nothing but help me so far. Okay then. We have to set some ground rules though! You can't do just _whatever _you want! First rule! Nothing that could get us killed. If you're going to pick a fight, be sure it's one that we can win and walk away from. Second! Nothing illegal! Third! Nothing perverted! Fourth! No skipping school or causing my grades to slip! Fifth! If you pick a weekend one week, you can't pick the weekend the next week; I'd like some time off from school that I can do stuff in the real world too. Sixth! Unless you're just with Chad, Orihime, and the rest who know you exist you have to act like me! Those are my terms."

**"I can agree with the first one, that's obvious. The second makes sense because I don't want to spend my off day in jail. Third one is fine, I don't care about that stuff like Kon does. Fourth one makes sense; if your grades dropped people might get suspicious. Fifth I don't like, but I don't have much of a choice, do I? That last one is fine too I guess, but your friends don't really interest me that much. I have a question."**

"What's that?"

**"Can I leave this world and go to Soul Society and Hueco Mundo?"**

"Yes, but you can't go breaking down Aizen's door because that breaks rule 1."

**"Aw damn, there goes all my fun," **Zangetsu said jokingly. **"Okay then. I accept your terms. Just one more question though."**

"Yeah?"

**"Can I hit that Shinji guy?"**

Ichigo smirked.

"Sure."

The two shook on it.

Suddenly Ichigo heard loud footsteps.

**"Shit, it's yer kid sister, the black haired one! Get in your body!"**

Ichigo panicked and did so, sitting up quickly.

Zangetsu vanished, focus lost.

"Karin…"

"I want you to tell me Ichigo, what are you thinking about?"

"Why would you ask me that? It's nothing to worry about."

"I already know… That you're a Soul Reaper!"

Ichigo's face was covered in shock.

"A what?"

Ichigo feigned ignorance.

"What are you even talking about Karin? Stop acting stupid."

"I saw you. A long time ago. At first I didn't know what it was but that old guy, Kanonji…!"

Suddenly there was a dense spiritual pressure in the air; they both felt it.

Ichigo turned and went for his window, grabbing his Combat pass.

"Ichigo, where are you going?!"

"Karin, can we talk about this later? You felt that right? That's some strong guys… probably evil guys. It's my job to stop them."

He turned and got on her eye level.

"I promise when I get back I'll do my best to explain everything to you. Okay?"

"You swear?"

"I swear."

Ichigo popped himself out of his body, not turning so that Karin couldn't see his mask, and leapt out the window, sprinting for the source of the power.

As he ran, he sensed a familiar person…

"Tatsuki!"

He clawed his hand over his mask and hollowfied, Flash Step turning into Sonido.

Just as a large man with a strange mask on his lower jaw was about to kick Tatsuki in half Ichigo appeared in his path, stopping the kick with one hand.

"Get away from Tatsuki you bastard!"

Ichigo charged a cero between his horns and the man's eyes widened right before he was engulfed in the blast.

"Your first mistake was coming here," Ichigo said. "Your second was attacking my friend."

Ichigo drew Zangetsu.

"A hollow… with a Zanpakto? Are you an Arrancar?! Why are you fighting us?!"

"I'm not an Arrancar, but at least you got the description right. Mostly."

Suddenly Chad and Orihime appeared.

"Chad, Orihime! Nice to see you."

Chad looked to Orihime.

"Do as we planned, take Tatsuki and run!"

Orihime nodded and gathered up her friend.

"What took you so long?" Ichigo asked.

Chad simply smiled a bit.

"Ulquiorra! Is this guy the one we're looking for?"

"Yammy, if you had invested some time to train your observational and reasoning skills, it would be obvious to you that the human is just trash."

"What did you-!"

Before Ichigo could move the larger man snapped Chad's arm like a twig.

"CHAD!"

Ichigo's eyes blazed gold.

"You're going to pay for that."

Ichigo's spiritual pressure suddenly thickened to the point where Orihime couldn't keep moving, even at her distance.

Ichigo let out a roar and lowered his horns, charging another attack.

"Sorry if this is too much… I haven't had the chance to practice it yet."

The orb grew to an immense size.

"Cero Gigante," Ichigo whispered.

The attack fired.

Yammy managed to move… but he lost an arm in the process.

"You bastard! You blew off my arm!"

"An eye for an eye you monster."

Ichigo lowered his output again and heard Orihime running back.

"Orihime. Heal Chad. I'll handle these two scumbags."

She nodded.

Ichigo noticed the smaller one's fascination with Orihime's technique and sonido'd over to him.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off of your opponent."

He grabbed Ulquiorra by the throat and started charging a cero between his horns.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't blow your head clean off?"

"I will repeat the advice you gave me; do not take your eyes off of your opponent."

Ichigo growled and tossed the smaller Arrancar to the ground before Sonidoing over and stopping a strike intended for Orihime.

"I have some advice for you, 'Arrancar': Run."

The Arrancar laughed.

"Why should I run?! You don't scare me! You're tiny!"

"I'm a hollow; you should know what that means in terms of my power. Bankai."

Ichigo activated his Bankai and rested his blade on his shoulder.

"Do you want to know the best part about my powers? Both of them get stronger when they get smaller. Orihime, run. Get Chad and Tatsuki to safety. I'll be right there after I make these guys regret hurting my friends."

Orihime nodded.

"Did he say Bankai?" asked the larger Arrancar. "Hey Ulquiorra, is this guy…?"

"Yes. It's amazing how your senseless ruckus lured him out so effortlessly. The orange hair, the skull mask, and the black Bankai. That is our target."

Yammy grinned.

"You saved us the trouble of tracking you down then!"

Yammy threw a punch… which Ichigo blocked with one hand.

"You ripped off Chad's arm. I took off yours. You should call it even and leave. Cut your losses."

Ichigo was a blur as he sped around cutting up Yammy.

When he finally stopped Yammy growled.

"DAMN YOU! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"You're still standing; you're as hardy as you look."

"It appears that you're struggling Yammy; would you like to switch?" questioned the smaller Arrancar.

"SHUT UP!"

Yammy started to draw his blade.

"Is it really necessary to use a Zanpakto against someone like him?"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"

'Right… They're Arrancar. From what Nel told me they have a release command and then they take on their true form.'

"Your little buddy's right; I'm just one guy. Can't you beat me? Or are you all talk?"

"Grr… you…!"

Ichigo vanished and kicked in Yammy's teeth, continuing to strike him over and over.

Ichigo again stood in front of Yammy.

"Are you going to leave, or do I need to kill you? I have half a mind to do it right now anyway because of what you did to Chad."

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Yammy started charging a cero.

"Oh? You wanna play that game huh. Alright."

Ichigo raised an arm and a cero began to build at his fingertips.

The two fired… and Ichigo's won out.

"No way! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Ichigo raised his blade.

"Getsuga Tensho."

He fired the strike… and had it swatted away by the smaller Arrancar.

"…What?!"

Ulquiorra then proceeded to elbow his ally in the gut.

"What the… hell're you doin?!"

"You're out of your mind, Yammy. It's obvious that this boy had you on the ropes from the beginning. Unless we escape, we're going to lose."

A rip in space opened next to them.

"Running away? You must be the smart one."

"You are indeed stronger than Yammy. However, my strength is leagues beyond your own. No matter though; we've completed our mission. I've prepared my report for Lord Aizen. As funny as it may seem, you aren't even worth targeting in the end. Just more trash."

The two vanished into the tear.

"Dammit… I don't think he was bluffing."

**"He looked tough partner. Be glad he didn't decide to go all out on you. We might've died."**

* * *

"…And so… that's how it is," Ichigo said to Karin. "Please, don't tell Yuzu."

"So what does your sword spirit look like?"

"Uh…. Well he kinda looks like me, except he wears a mask. And he's all white. And there's another one that's a man in his 40's or something with a beard and long messy hair that sits on poles and likes nature."

"You have two of them? Is that normal?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm weird."

Ichigo bit his lip.

"Well… About the white Zangetsu. It's…."

"What, Ichigo?"

"He's also a hollow. We think. He's… a bit merciless but he's not… a bad guy… if you can believe that... I know it's kind of hard to believe…"

"If he's a part of you, he can't be all bad, Ichigo."

"Well… because of that I normally look like a hollow. Sort of. When I'm a spirit. It's when I'm strongest, it lets me protect the people I care about from even the scariest guys."

She simply nodded.

"That all you wanted to know?"

"Yeah. Thanks Ichigo."

She hugged him and he hugged back.

* * *

Ichigo was sitting in class the next day, when he heard a commotion outside the room and felt a handful of familiar spiritual pressures.

'Oh no.'

The door to his classroom opened.

'Ohhhh no.'

"How's it going, Ichigo?" said Renji.

He was accompanied by Ikkaku, Toshiro, Rangiku, and Yumichika.

"Renji!? Ikkaku?! Yumichika?! Rangiku?! Toshiro!?"

"That's _Captain Hitsugaya _to you."

"What are you all doing here…?"

"It's an order," replied Renji. "They said to prepare for a direct confrontation with the Arrancar. We were to go to the human world and meet up with the acting-Soul Reaper group."

"Really?"

Ichigo heard a noise behind him and slowly turned to see a figure standing in the window.

"Rukia…"

"Long time no see, Ichigo."

Aaand the rest of the class was confused.

"Hey Ichigo, do you know these people?" whispered Chizuru.

Ichigo was shocked by Rukia's appearance.

He blinked.

"Ru..kia?"

She kicked him in the face.

"Wha…?!"

He was caught by Renji and held back.

"What's the big idea?!"

He noticed he was being held in place.

"Eh?"

Ichigo took several slaps to the face.

"Damnit, what the hell?!"

"What's with that wimpy look on your face?!"

"Eh?"  
Suddenly he found himself ripped from his body.

"Come with me!"

"Wait wait! Where are you taking me!?"

X

It had turned into Ichigo, primarily a Soul Reaper, carrying Rukia around.

Ichigo had made it a habit to keep his mask on the side of his head unless he was fighting like this. He liked the feeling.

"Where are you taking me again?"

"Shut up and keep running!"

Ichigo noticed something; a hollow.

"I see it! It's over there!" yelled Rukia. "Go get him!"

She kicked Ichigo at the creature.

"AHHHHHH!"

He crashed into the ground.

"I don't see the point in this, but okay."

Ichigo dodged a strike.

"What are you doing?! Start fighting! You're not going to lose to a hollow like that, are you?"

"Shut up! I'll deal with it!"

For some reason Ichigo felt… weaker.

He brought his blade up to counter a strike.

"Why are you just blocking?!"

"Shut up!"

Ichigo tried to fire a Cero but it fizzled out in his palm.

"What-?!"

He got slapped away.

"I've noticed. Every time you take off that mask, every time you're like this, your spiritual pressure goes down dramatically."

Ichigo blocked another strike.

"You're right…"

He remembered Nel's fear of removing her mask.

"Wait a minute, do you think that because my hollow powers are so strong that I get scared or something when I take it off and that cuts off my powers?"

"Exactly! But you don't have anything to be afraid of!"

'She's right…'

Ichigo turned, forced the hollow back.

"If you're afraid of losing, just get stronger. If You're afraid of not being able to protect your friends, swear to get stronger until you can protect them no matter what the circumstances. If you've got some stupid instinctual fear because of your Hollow, then get stronger until you can crush that fear! If you don't want to listen to others, then hold your chin up and yell those words to yourself!"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

'Zangetsu… I'm going to have to learn to fight without my hollow powers all over again… Are you okay with that?'

**"Heh. That broad ruined everything. She made you realize my test. She gave you the answer ."**

Ichigo smirked.

"Y'know… Zangetsu says he isn't too happy with you for messing with his 'test'. You're so noisy, Rukia."

Ichigo brought his blade down and killed the hollow.

**"You've gotten powerful as a Hollow, Ichigo. Now ya need to get stronger as a Soul Reaper. My mask can't help ya with that so, yer gonna have to learn to fight without it too. You evolved as a hollow does, and got all the instincts that came with it… my instincts. That's what I am Ichigo. Your true instincts. As long as you listen to me I won't lead ya wrong… partner."**

* * *

"BIG SISTER~!"

Kon got kicked in the face and stomped on the floor.

"Long time no see, Kon."

"Ah~! Even though we've been separated for the summer, you stepped on me without hesitation! You are indeed my older sister! I'm so happy…Rukia…"

"Stop playing. Hurry up and go on in," Ichigo instructed.

"Okay."

The two entered the room fully and Ichigo shut the door.

"I haven't been in this tiny room for a while!"

"Shut up! You didn't need to mention 'tiny'! Don't compare this with Byakuya's house!"

"Oh, sorry I blurted it out."

"Blurted what…? HEY! DON'T SIT ON MY BED!"

"Why does it matter? Stingy!"

"SHUT UP AND SIT ON THE FLOOR, IDIOT!"

Ichigo heard yelling on the other side of his door and growled, throwing the door open.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! This is not a show for noisy bystanders."

After his father and Yuzu scurried off, Ichigo was about to close the door when Karin stepped into the doorframe.

"So you're the Soul Reaper Ichigo and his friends went to save huh? You're not quite what I was expecting."

Then she noticed Kon.

"Is that stuffed animal…standing?"

"Oh right, I forgot to mention Kon. When he's not standing in for me he's stuck in that thing," Ichigo explained.

Ichigo looked to Kon.

"This isn't an excuse to act like you run the house. Karin may know about you but Yuzu doesn't, and I'd prefer to keep her out of all this mess if possible."

"R-right…"

"How did you know…" Rukia turned to Ichigo angrily. "Why did you tell her you were a Soul Reaper?!"

"I didn't, she saw me a long time ago, okay?! I felt it would be better to let her know the truth, okay?"

"Ichigo-!"

"What would you have me do, treat her like she's stupid? She'd figure it out some time eventually even if I denied it. And I thought it'd let her feel better or something."

"Eh it's fine… Rukia right? I'm not going to go telling other people about this, they'd just call me crazy, and with dad I have enough crazy in my life as it is."

Ichigo nodded.

"We have to talk about some Soul Reaper stuff now Karin. Mind leaving us alone?" Ichigo said so Yuzu couldn't hear him if she was lurking nearby.

She nodded.

"Just stay safe, Ichigo."

"I will."

Ichigo shut the door.

"So what's up with these Arrancar?"

"Let us do the explaining!"

Suddenly Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika appeared from his ceiling.

"What the hell?! How did you even get IN there?! What did you do to my ceiling light?!"

"We tried to change the light bulb!" exclaimed Rangiku jokingly, jabbing a thumb at Ikkaku.

"Say what?"

Ichigo watched as Kon threw himself at Rangiku but was swiftly sent flying and sighed.

"Is this some kind of a trend in your world?" asked Ikkaku.

"Nah, just him."

* * *

"…The original plan was to stay put and keep watch until Aizen attacks Soul Society, since we're still recovering from the absence of three captains. However, the Artificial Arrancar appeared earlier than expected. They've already entered the human world, so there was no way we could've just sat back as planned. Therefore, we were chosen to come here."

"Who picked you guys?"

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Since the Central 46 was killed, Captain Commander is making all the decisions until all 46 replacements are chosen. In any case, Rukia was chosen because she knew you best."

"No! I was picked for my abilities!"

"Among the most capable combatants available, I was closest to Rukia so I was chosen as well. Then because the Captain-Commander said I could pick one non-captain that I trusted the most, I asked Ikkaku to come along. Then Yumichika said "I'm definitely going too!'. Then, passing by and hearing about this, Rangiku thought it was interesting and wanted to come too. She said that she was coming no matter what, so I had no choice but to ask Captain Hitsugaya to lead the group, and that's how we ended up here."

"That almost sounded like going on a picnic!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"The important thing is…" started Toshiro from the windowsill. "…That Aizen is interested in you, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ah it's Captain Hitsugaya. He's the one who wouldn't cooperate and refused to go through the ceiling with us," said Rangiku.

"Have you been waiting outside for us to open the window?" asked Renji. "That's not good, a silver-haired elementary school kid would turn a lot of heads."

"You're all dead meat when we get back to Soul Society…"

Toshiro sighed.

"As you know from what I've been told, Arrancar are the result of hollows removing their masks. However an average hollow removing their mask would not be any problem for us. If they really want to start a war against Soul Society, the ones removing their masks would need to be Menos or stronger."

"You mean Adhudjas or Vasto Lordes…"

"Yes, that's precisely what I mean. Vasto Lorde's combat capabilities are far above that of our captains. Therefore, it's hard to imagine how strong these Arrancar really are. We're short a total of three captains. If the Arrancar are that much stronger than their Menos selves, I can tell you this: If Aizen has more than 10 Vasto Lorde Class Arrancar, Soul Society is doomed."

"Do you think we can fight fire with fire?" Ichigo asked.

"What?"

"Nel… the Arrancar that was with us when we rescued Rukia… She's a Vasto Lorde. Also…"

Ichigo popped out of his body and hollowfied.

"I am a Vasto Lorde."

Hitsugaya let out a dry chuckle.

"Be glad Kurotsuchi isn't here; he'd want to experiment on you." Toshiro paused. "That's both comforting and absolutely terrifying at the same time. Hang on…"

He appeared deep in thought for a moment.

"You said that Nel person was an Arrancar, correct?"

"Yeah. How she became how she is matches how an Arrancar forms."

"How did she wind up so complete though? Usually natural Arrancar are incomplete and flawed, usually monstrous."

"Maybe it has to do with the fact she's a Vasto Lorde?"

"Maybe… I'll have to report this back to the Soul Society-!"

Ichigo's blade was at his neck.

"If any harm comes to Nel, it's on your head. Understand?"

"Perfectly. If you could remove your blade now?"

Ichigo did as told and returned to his body, eyeing Toshiro for a bit before everyone else started messing with Kon.

"So uh… when are you all heading back?"

"When the Arrancar threat is over," Renji said. "That's probably the soonest we can think about going home."

"Well that's fine I guess, but there's no way all of you can stay here in my room."

"Then what good are you?" whined Rangiku.

"WHAT GOOD AM I? Ask yourself that! Don't think you can just stay here like a bunch of freeloaders."

Rangiku began to unbutton her shirt.

"What the-!? Stop right there! And pull your skirt down, it's riding too far up!"

Ichigo covered his face with his hands.

"I'll never give in to temptation! No, it absolutely won't work! I'm a real man!"

He was somewhat peeking through his fingers.

"You could pull those fingers down at least," said Rukia bluntly.

"Well I guess I'll stay at Orihime's," said Rangiku.

"Did you even get permission?"

"No, but I'm sure I can arrange something."

Kon again lost it and was sent flying to the ground.

"We should get going too," said Ikkaku.

"Where are you gonna stay?" asked Ichigo.

"Yumichika and I will find our own cots somewhere. It's as they say, 'It ain't about the destination, but the journey'."

"Just be careful with the wooden sword."

"Guess that just leaves me," said Renji.

"Any ideas?"

"I could try with Urahara I suppose. I was planning to try and understand how that guy brought you to your current level in such a short amount of time Ichigo. Besides, I'd like to discuss a few matters with him while I'm there."

"So…"

"Watch out for that freak while you are there!" said Rukia, waving enthusiastically.

"Eh… So Rukia, you know where you're gonna stay?"

Rukia turned and sprinted back into the house.

"Wait Rukia!"

"It's obvious where! My old spot is still there in your room, it's _mine_!"

"That's off limits! You've already been seen by my family inside! You can't stay here so get going! Scram! Shoo!"

* * *

Ichigo felt it.

Six strong powers like the two he'd fought before.

"Rukia!"

"I know! 1…2…"

"There's six!"

"That many?!"

"Are they coming this way?"

"No, they're searching for Spiritual Energy, but they do not seem to be heading here…yet."

"What's that mean?!"

"It means regardless of their opponents power, they're going to attack! They're combing the town for anyone with some measure of power. They're plotting a massacre."

"Orihime? Chad? Where are they?"

"Captain Hitsugaya and Vice-Captain Matsumoto are near Orihime! She's safest! As for Chad…!"

Her eyes widened.

"One of them is already there."

Ichigo did his best to scan the town frantically.

'That one is…. Tatsuki!'

"One of them's made their way to Tatsuki. I don't know why her instead of the others but one's headed to her. I'm going!"

Ichigo swallowed Kon and took off out the window at full speed, holllowifying as he did.

From the depths of his being he let out a primal roar that echoed across the night, being heard only by those with any sort of Spiritual sense.

* * *

Tatsuki heard a loud noise.

Her mother was away for a while so she was all alone.

She froze; had someone broken in?

She heard footsteps; they got louder and were headed for _her_.

She stood up and got into a fighting stance, ready to fight the attacker.

When the door fell she saw a man with a strange half mask on his face in white garb.

"Your spiritual pressure is disappointing; I was hoping I'd get to kill that Captain first, but orders are orders."

Suddenly both of them felt a monstrous Spiritual pressure.

Tatsuki could barely stand.

Then she heard it: a roar that struck fear into her like nothing else.

A being with a horned mask appeared in the front doorway from seemingly thin air with red fur around its neck, ankles and wrists. Black stripes erupted from the hole in its chest. It had feudal-styled pants and a sleeveless top in the same style. On its back was a large item wrapped in bandages. Its eyes glowed a bright gold. The most striking feature for her was the long, orange hair.

"Get away from Tatsuki," it declared in a watery voice.

'How does that thing know my name…?'

"And what if I don't?"

"I'll rip your head off and leave it on Aizen's doorstep," the being growled back.

"That sounds like a challenge."

"That's a promise."

Slowly Tatsuki started to realize the voice of the horned creature.

"I…Ichigo?"

Ichigo vanished in a blur of Sonido, grabbed the Arrancar, and vanished in another blur, taking the two of them outside.

Ichigo grabbed the Arrancar by his neck and charged a powerful Cero in between his horns.

"I hope your friends get the message."

The cero fired and the Arrancar was dead.

Ichigo quickly sonido'd back to Tatsuki and dehollowfied, sliding his mask to the side.

"Tatsuki, are you alright?"

She was scared stiff.

"Tatsuki?"

"Ichi…go? What… was that? What happened to you?! You were… one of those THINGS!"

"It's a long story, and I don't have time to tell it right now. There's 5 more of those guys and one of them is way stronger. One of them is going for Chad. Let me handle that, and I promise when we beat the rest of them, I'll explain everything to you."

Ichigo turned around and hollowfied again.

"Just know I'm not one of those mindless monsters you've probably seen by now. I'm still Ichigo."

He vanished.

* * *

"You lose."

Ichigo grabbed the Arrancar's wrist, appearing out of nowhere.

"The winner is determined after the actual fight."

"Then I shall wait until I've killed both of you to say it again."

"Let's hope you put up more of a fight than your buddy with the spike on his head."

"What..?"

"He died easily. I guess I'm a liar though; I said I'd leave his head on Aizen's doorstep but I blew it clean off instead…"

Ichigo looked away and scratched his neck.

"Chad. Go."

"Ichigo, I can-!"

"Chad!"

Chad nodded and ran off.

"Hmm… Still can't decide how I want to kill you!"

Ichigo felt a spiritual pressure behind him.

"Rukia."

"Yep. On the way here, I ran into Chad. Tell me, what did you say to him?"

"I told him to go. Let me handle it."

A pause.

"Get out of the way, Ichigo!"

"What are you talking about? "

He saw a strange stick in her hand.

"You…. That's….!"

"I'm telling you to get outta my way and let me handle this one."

She swallowed the pill and popped out of her body.

"Seems like you're getting a big head, Ichigo."

"Wait… you… Does this mean your Soul Reaper powers have…?"

"Surprised? The reason I had lost control over them before was the faulty Gigai that Urahara pawned off to me, which means once I did away with it and went back to Soul Society, it was only a matter of time before my powers returned. Isn't it obvious?"

"Ruki…a.."

Suddenly the Gigai jumped Ichigo.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"More importantly, please graciously remove yourself from the premises!"

"This is the most popular Artificial Soul among Female Soul Reapers, Chappy! This was the Artificial Soul I originally ordered from Urahara's shop. However we all know what happened the first time… I got Kon instead."

"You gotta be kidding me! You telling me you planned to stick this psycho in my body?! I Really don't want to say it, but this makes Kon look like a godsend!"

"that's terrible~"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! THAT'S IT TIME TO TEST YOUR WARRANTY!"

Ichigo attempted to fight the thing but failed and was restrained.

To add insult to injury he reverted to his Soul Reaper form.

Ichigo watched as Rukia dealt with the Arrancar easily.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ichigo screamed as the Soul twisted his arm behind his back.

"Oh hush! If you weren't so stubborn I wouldn't have to use force!"

"SHUT UP ALREADY! You're getting on my nerves! Let go of me! AGGHH! MY ARM, YOU'RE BEAKING MY ARM! I'M NOT IN MY HOLLOW FORM, I CAN'T REGENERATE DAMAGE! OWOWOOWOW! BUZZ OF YOU LITTLE FREAK!"

"That's not acceptable! I would kill you before putting you at risk!"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! YOUR JOB IS TO GET ME OUT OF HERE IN ONE PIECE!"

"yup, but your arm sounds funny, doesn't it~?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH…."

"What are you doing entangled like that?" asked Rukia.

"Your Zanpakto…"

"It's Sode No Shirayuki. It is one of the most beautiful Zanpaktos in the Soul Society. A weapon that's bound to the ice and snow family of Zanpaktos. The blade, the hand guard, even the hilt. Everything about this Zanpakto is pure white."

"What a bunch of crap." Ichigo looked up at the thing pinning him. "Get the hell off of me already!"

"But your arm sounds so funny doesn't it~?"

"OUCH!"

"Good thing that was over quick. A bit too quick though."

Suddenly they both felt a huge power right near them.

"What's this? Di Roy's killers still here waiting around? You won't get out of this; I'll kill you both!"

The two looked up in horror.

"I'm the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jagerjack! Remember that Soul Reapers!"

He landed on the ground in front of them.

'I remember that name…'

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Which one of you is the strongest?!"

"Ichigo fall back now-!"

Ichigo watched as Grimmjow impaled Rukia's gut.

"Not her obviously."

He tossed her aside.

"GRIMMJOW!"

The Arrancar turned and looked at Ichigo, and his eyes widened when he saw the skull mask over Ichigo's face.

"This mask look familiar?"

"No way… But… Where did you get that mask, Soul Reaper?!"

"It's mine. And I'm not just a Soul Reaper."

Ichigo clawed his mask and hollowfied, letting out a roar of challenge.

"Your mask changed…"

"I've been drinking my milk."

Ichigo was behind Grimmjow.

"Cero Gigante."

A massive explosion rocked the town.

"That wasn't a bad attack. Too bad you missed."

Ichigo's eyes went wide.

Grimmjow was behind him.

"How…did you…?!"

"I'm way stronger than the guys you fought before. You might be a Vasto Lorde, but I'm an Arrancar; I'm way stronger than you."

'Shit!'

"C'mon! Show me your Bankai! I know you've got one, I saw Ulqiuorra's report! Show it to me, or I'll put a fuckin' hole in you like your friend there."

"Fine! BANKAI!"

"Is that it?"

Ichigo lunged at Grimmjow but missed before swinging at Grimmjow, who grabbed the blade and threw Ichigo

The two engaged in High Speed Combat, but Ichigo slowly started to lose the advantage before being tossed to the ground.

"You disappoint me, Soul Reaper! All your Bankai can do is make you faster? Is that it?"

When the smoke cleared Ichigo was charging a black Getsuga Tensho.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!"

Ichigo released his full power behind that attack, leaving Grimmjow scarred.

"That sort of power wasn't in the report, Soul Reaper!"

"Still disappointed, Arrancar?"

**"Ichigo, let me have a crack at him! You owe me, remember?!"**

'Fine, I'm worn out anyway.'

Ichigo stepped back and felt himself practically thrown into his inner world.

Zangetsu began to charge another Getsuga when suddenly a Gargantua appeared behind Grimmjow and Tousen stepped out.

However, the Arrancar didn't notice.

"HAHAHAH! This is great! Seems it's finally worth killing you!"

**"You're the one that's about to get killed!"**

"Oh yeah? Check this out!" Grimmjow drew his sword… or started to.

Tousen stopped him.

"Sheathe your sword, Grimmjow."

"Tousen," Grimmjow hissed.

'Zangetsu, wasn't he one of the captains who vanished with Aizen?!'

**'Yeah.'**

**"Why'd you stop him, Tousen? Things were just getting good!"**

Tousen ignored Zangetsu and turned to Grimmjow.

"Taking it upon yourself to invade the Living World, mobilizing 5 Arrancar without permission. Attacking Soul Reapers. It was all against orders. You understand, right? Aizen is furious, Grimmjow. We're going. Your punishment will be decided in Hueco Mundo."

"Shit…Fine."

**"Where the hell do you think you're going?! We've got a fight to finish!"**

"Shut up! I'm going back to Hueco Mundo."

**"Running away?! GET BACK HERE! OUR FIGHT ISN'T OVER!"**

"Our unfinished fight spared your life, Soul Reaper. Even if you kept firing those attacks all day you couldn't even touch me in my Released form. Don't forget my name, and pray you never hear it a second time."

The two vanished.

**"Shit. "**

"Did he leave?"

It was Renji.

Ichigo quickly yanked back control

'Sorry Zangetsu, now isn't the time to let everyone know you can do that.'

"Did you lose?"

"I lost."

"Idiot. Being alive is better than winning."

"Stop lying. If you were me, you wouldn't say that. I can't protect anyone. People who are injured… I can't even heal them. I lost."


	8. King and Horse

Chapter 8

King and Horse

Ichigo looked down at Rukia, who'd just finished healing.

"Did you even feel a speck of obligation to help me out when I was hurt?! Don't get so caught up in the moment like that! Your own injuries are your own problems! I'm not so weak as to not be able to protect you, you know!" declared Rukia. "So don't go making a face like you're having a bad time!"

"Right…"

"If it's about what we discussed earlier, perhaps you should-!"

"It isn't. I'm just thinking is all."

"Oh… alright. That's certainly different."

"Oh shut up would you!? I'm plenty capable of thinking about things! I'm not an idiot!"

* * *

Ichigo sat in class the next day half-listening to the teacher's words.

He was so dazed he didn't realize his hand had been moving on its own and written out one word on some notebook paper:

"Tomorrow."

'Oh, right. Our deal. That sounds fine to me, Zangetsu.'

Ichigo continued listening to what the teacher, having to recite some things from a book they were studying, something English, at one point.

After classes, Ichigo got ready to leave but Tatsuki stopped him.

"You said you'd explain all that shit to me. Well?"

Ichigo sighed and leaned against the awning outside the classroom.

He pulled some paper from his book bag and wrote an address down on it.

"Meet me here in a couple of hours. I'll explain everything."

Ichigo walked off.

* * *

Urahara's shop.

Ichigo leaned against the side when suddenly the owner opened the door.

"Ichigo, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you-!"

"Alright Ichigo, I'm here. Who's this weirdo?"

"He's part of everything. Really, he's the reason all this has happened."

Urahara noticed Tatsuki.

"Oh are you one of Ichigo's friends? Welcome to my humble candy shop!"

"Can the act, she knows about me."

"Oh."

Ichigo and Tatsuki walked past Urahara… and Ichigo saw Renji sitting across from Nel at the table.

"Hey you two."

"Ichigo!"

Nel practically crushed Ichigo with a hug.

"Nel…can't… breathe… human… body… going to… die…"

"Who are you?! Stop crushing Ichigo, you're going to kill him!"

Nel realized Ichigo was now unconscious and started shaking him.

"That's not helping!" yelled Tatsuki.

After Ichigo recovered he introduced Tatsuki to Nel properly.

"This is Nel, or her full name Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. She's an Arrancar, like the guys from last night, except she's not on their side. Before you get angry or something, let me start from the beginning…"

Ichigo sighed and explained everything that had happened, from Rukia giving her his powers to him finding his own and getting Hollow powers, to finding Nel, to saving Rukia, to Aizen's betrayal, to the revelation of Artificial Arrancar.

"That's…"

Tatsuki slumped where she was sitting and let out a sigh.

"That's quite a lot to take in."

"You're taking it better than I expected at least," Ichigo noted.

He turned to Nel.

"So how've you been Nel? We haven't talked in a while."

"I've been well. Urahara has kept me quite busy as of late."

"It's so great having this much help around the shop! I hardly have to do anything! Hahahah!"

Ichigo hit Urahara.

"Owwwwww…."

"I"ve also been helping him test out a new Gigai prototype he's been working on."

"Really?"

"Yes; it was designed specifically for Arrancar."

"A normal Gigai couldn't handle her type of Spiritual Pressure, so I had to make a new one. Seems to be working great!"

Tatsuki shot up and held her forehead.

"This is… This is too much. I… Need some time to think and comprehend all this…"

She walked out without saying another word.

Ichigo rubbed his temples.

'What a nightmare…'

"I think I'm going to go for now too."

* * *

His allies were completely and wholly trusting of Ichigo.

He was not.

Toshiro sat against the side of a structure on a rooftop in thought.

'He's a hollow. No matter what he says or does… It's undeniable that he's a hollow. That spiritual pressure… unless he's in Bankai it's almost completely a Hollow's. Worse, he's a Vasto Lorde. If he were to turn to Aizen, Soul Society would be doomed. His potential to grow is too great; if he were to become an Arrancar then all of Soul Society would fall before him. Aizen would win.'

"What's on your mind, Captain?"

Rangiku arrived with drinks. Toshiro didn't recognize the bottles but he assumed they were some form of booze from the living world knowing her.

"Nothing Rangiku. Just thoughts about Kurosaki."

"I didn't know you liked guys, Captain."

"Not like that!" He snapped before calming. "You know exactly what I mean. Ichigo's a hollow. Can you imagine what will happen if he joins Aizen?"

"Don't you think he would have done that already if he were going to?"

"He hasn't had a reason. Yet. All Aizen needs is a little leverage, just one way to twist his arm and Ichigo could easily turn on us in a heartbeat."

Rangiku sighed and slumped down beside him.

"Captain, you need to relax, have a drink! All work and no play makes Captain Hitsugaya even duller of a boy!"

"How can you tell me to relax when that THING is out there, ready to slit our throats at the drop of a hat?!"

Silence until Rangiku cracked open one of the bottles.

* * *

Tatsuki had decided the best way to sort this whole mess out would be to write all of it down in some sort of web or something.

She sat at her desk in her room with crumpled up balls of paper and paper with writing next to her.

"So… he's been like this for… all of the summer? And maybe longer? "

She growled and gripped her hair.

'He seems so… normal most of the time! But when he showed up last night…'

She recalled the imposing figure of his hollowfied form standing in her doorway, the way he dragged the masked guy off before returning, still wearing that horned mask.

"What should I do…? How am I even supposed to react to this?! UGGGGGGGH!"

* * *

**"Where're we goin?"**

'None of your business.'

**"Of course it's my business, I'm part of you!"**

'No, you aren't.'

Silence.

**"Ouch. Well I'm still part of this soul! I should know where we're goin!"**

'No you shouldn't.'

**"Waitaminute… you aren't seriously…"**

'So you worked it out.'

**"You traitor! You backstabbin' bastard! I help you all this time and this is the thanks I get?!"**

'Have you seen how Toshiro eyes us? The others don't look at me like that but you know they're gotta be thinking the same things!'

**"So that's it? You're just going to get rid of me? Shut me up? Stuff me somewhere in your soul so my power doesn't influence you anymore?! I made you what you are, Ichigo! I-!"**

'You made me into a monster! Have you SEEN what we look like?! Tatsuki… she was scared of me! Orihime is scared of me! My own sister is probably scared of me! I've got a CAPTAIN worried! This isn't just something I can ignore anymore Zangetsu! What do you want me to do? Let them hunt us down, kidnap or kill my friends and family until I give myself up and get killed by them?! Is that what you want?!'

No reply for a moment, then:

**"What I want isn't what you want! I said that already, Ichigo! If they want to get all paranoid about it then we'll just go to Hueco Mundo! Forget them! We'll start a new life there! We'll be the most powerful being in Los Noches! We'll-!"**

"We'll be alone!" Yelled Ichigo out loud in the alley. "We won't have any friends, we won't have any family, it will be you and me and the old man and that's it! Is that what you want?! If that's what you want why did you even bother asking for time in the real world?!"

**"Do you even know what they'd do to me? What they'd have YOU do to me? If you do what they say you'll just be weaker!"**

'Then what do you want me to do, Zangetsu?!'

**"Prove you can be trusted."**

'And how do you expect me to do that?!'

**"…I saw how Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. He saw her healing ability and he saw something more. I don't know what, but if it intrigued him it would intrigue Aizen."**

'You don't think he's going to…'

**"I do. I can't say for sure, but I think he will try to take her."**

'Then we should go stop him no-!'

**"No Ichigo! They'd only suspect you more! What if he does it while you're off in Hueco Mundo chasing him down? Think for a minute, Ichigo!"**

'…It'll look like I was part of it the whole time.'

**"THANK YOU! What we NEED to do is alert that Rangiku chick and – No."**

'No?'

**"It'd be strange if WE were predicting an attack by Aizen. It's a fuckin' catch 22. We can't take preemptive action. We can't warn em. If they find out we knew later we're gonna get flak for that and they'll think we were playin' em."**

'So do we do nothing?!'

**"Let me worry about that Ichigo. I'll… I'll think of something. But I can't do that if you shut me out, Ichigo. Ya gotta let me stay. Take the stares for a little while longer, partner. We'll prove they can trust us."**

'...Alright. I have a question though.'

**"What?"**

The answer was sharp and irritated; his sword spirit was obviously still upset over the prospect of being shut out.

'Why don't I have a hollow form in Bankai?'

**"You can't."**

'Why?'

**"You just can't."**

'That's not an answer, Zangetsu.'

**"There's some things I can't tell you Ichigo, this is one of those things."**

Ichigo knew there was another reason but decided not to press the issue.

He turned and walked back home.

* * *

Rukia felt her cell phone buzz and checked it.

Oddly enough, it was from Ichigo.

"Can we talk tomorrow?" the text read.

She raised an eyebrow but replied: "Sure. What about?"

A second or two later: "I'll tell you when we meet up."

She frowned and replied : "Alright. Should I tell everyone else?"

More waiting and another buzz: "No, come alone."

She changed her expression to a concerned look and texted back: "Are you alright?"

Buzz, buzz: "Yeah I'm fine. We can meet up here;"

There was an address she recognized as a local shopping center.

She tapped away on her phone: "Okay then. I'm guessing you won't explain when you get home?"

More buzzing: "Nope."

* * *

Zangetsu waited by the street sign.

Rukia intrigued him.

Even as she was about to die she was stubborn.

She could read Ichigo like a book, something even _he _couldn't do on a regular basis, and he was Ichigo's Sword Spirit.

'Curiosity killed the cat,' Ichigo warned

"I'm a Zanpakto not a cat, partner."

It was odd, hearing Ichigo's voice come from in his head and from his own lips.

"Ichigo!"

Rukia arrived.

"Hey. C'mon, I figured we could talk about this over lunch or something."

"This wasn't an excuse to take me out on a date or something was it?"

"Hell no!" Zangetsu did his best Ichigo impression.

**'Perfect.'**

The two headed to the shopping center and ordered some food at a fast food joint before sitting down across from one another.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"First of all…" Zangetsu rested his chin on his thumbs, intertwining his fingers. "I'm not Ichigo."

Her eyes widened.

"Don't make a scene. It's fine. This is part of our agreement."

"Agreement?"

"Yeah. Agreement. Me n' Ichigo have a deal, I get to pick one day of the week to live his life for him. We've got rules n shit set up so I don't do anythin' stupid or whatever. I wanted to talk t' you, so that's what I'm gonna do. Any problems with that?"

It started as questions about how he could even be doing what he was doing and led into Zangetsu learning about Rukia's past and upbringing, wherein he ended up laughing at Byakuya "being a hardass, even back then".

If there was one thing the experience had done it had at the least built the foundations of trust between Rukia and Zangetsu, something the Spirit knew he'd need.

They'd need.

Ensuring Rukia trusted not only Ichigo but himself as well meant if they were called into question Rukia could argue for them as a whole, not just for Ichigo.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason; he'd genuinely… dare he say _enjoyed_ this outing.

After the two left one another, Zangetsu decided to go for a walk.

Experiencing all of this second-hand was much different than being in control of the body; everything was crisp and sharp, nothing at all like his usual experience of the outside world.

Unlike the Old Man he preferred the urban/sub-urban environments.

However, he was itching for a fight, and while maybe it went against his better judgment, he decided that there'd be one person more than willing to spar with him: Ikkaku.

* * *

A month passed.

Every other weekend Zangetsu would meet up with Rukia and talk, and at this point he could safely say they were at the least very good acquaintances or maybe even friends.

Today was an off-week for Zangetsu, a Thursday.

He'd picked Thursday because Wednesday was a stupid name for a day and Friday would leave the body too tired to make his experience enjoyable.

**'Man do I know how to pick my days…'**

Three arrancar had showed up; the large one, Yammy, from last time, a smaller Arrancar and Grimmjow.

The latter was missing an arm.

"I was lookin' for you, Soul Reaper."

**"Heh. I've been waitin' on you. I gotta ****_hand _****it to ya, the suspense has been killin' me! I might be goin' out on a ****_limb _****here but I'm guessin' Aizen wasn't too happy with ya."**

"Is that all you can do, spout out smart quips?!"

**"Why don't you come n' find out?"**

Zangetsu and Grimmjow both vanished in blurs and reappeared over the city.

Zangetsu went Bankai right off the bat.

"Bankai already? Don't you remember how helpless you were against me with that Bankai?"

**"That's not what that scar's sayin' partner. Better not get too cocky; it'll end up costing you ****_an arm and a leg_****! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"**

Zangetsu charged at Grimmjow, unleashing his full power.

Without having to filter it through Ichigo and the Old Man he could cut loose.

Grimmjow brought up his blade to block the strike.

**"Getsuga Tensho."**

An orb of power exploded around them.

Grimmjow was left bloodied.

"This is insane…"

Zangetsu appeared behind Grimmjow.

**"It ain't nice to call someone 'this' partner!"**

He fired a second Getsuga that sent Grimmjow flying.

Zangetsu eagerly gave chase.

**"Look at you! You're nothing but a-!"**

He promptly took a cero to the face and was launched back, crashing into a nearby building.

**'Shit, I wasn't paying attention.'**

Grimmjow reappeared and cut him across the chest.

Before the Espada could deal any more damage Zangetsu Sonido'd away.

He poured power into the wound and it healed itself.

**'He can cut through Hierro no problem… He really is tough.'**

Zangetsu just barely blocked a strike; he was slowing down.

He'd not used the body enough in Bankai, he wasn't used to the strain it caused, as his "body" within the Inner World didn't suffer from the effects, and normally he didn't care. This time however he'd been pouring more power into his attacks in an attempt to kill Grimmjow, and the explosion earlier certainly didn't help.

**'Overestimated myself… funny how it's my power but when I'm using it in Ichigo's body the side effects surprise me.'**

Grimmjow suddenly grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

"What was all that bravado before, Soul Reaper?! Looks like you're all talk!"

Zangetsu raised a hand and a red sphere appeared in his hand.

**"Karma's a bitch, buddy."**

The attack hit home, but barely glanced the Espada.

Zangetsu hit the ground but managed to get to his knees.

However, a sword impaled his arms, nailing them to the ground.

**'Shit!'**

Grimmjow started charging a Cero.

"A cero from this distance will blow that smug head of yours clean off!"

Suddenly his hand froze over.

"What?!"

"Next dance," Zangetsu looked to his right to see Rukia. "Hakuren."

A wave of ice hit Grimmjow and froze him over.

She went over and attempted to help remove the blade.

**"That's some crazy power you've got there, partner."**

"Zangetsu then?"

**"Yea-ow!"**

"Don't speak; it's hard enough to get this out of you as it is. Talking will make this take longer."

Zangetsu frowned under his mask.

"Seems you were pretty reckless back there. You're all beat up."

**"Shut up, Rukia. I had him I just-!"**

"Zangetsu. That's-!"

The sound of shattering ice was heard before Rukia's head was gripped by the Arrancar.

"Don't underestimate me, Soul Reaper. You think you can kill me by freezing the top layer of my skin? You're so Naive! "

He started charging a Cero

**"Rukia!"**

To the surprise of both Rukia and Ichigo, Zangetsu acted before Ichigo could even attempt to, pulling hard and ripping chunks of flesh from his hands before regenerating them and tackling Grimmjow, shattering more ice as the two hit the ground.

**'No power, no sword… Ichigo this is gonna hurt. A lot.'**

'What are you doing?'

**'New trick I thought up, shut up, watch, and learn!'**

Zangetsu charged a cero in his hands, both placed around Grimmjow's neck.

**"Cero de dos Manos."**

The attacks exploded and sent Zangetsu flying backwards, landing next to the blade he represented.

Grimmjow managed to stand up.

He gripped his blade.

"GRI-!"

A chalk white hand rested on the hilt.

It was Ulquiorra.

"Mission accomplished. Let's go."

The two of them vanished into a Gargantua.

**"God dammit… That sucked…"**

"You saved me…"

**"Course I did. Ichigo woulda killed me if I didn't."**

He let out a pained version of his usual laugh, which erupted into coughing blood.

**"Fuckin'… That baster Grimmjow. At this rate I'll have no choice but to teach Ichigo 'that'."**

"'That'?"

**"Don't worry about it."**

"What's 'that'?"

**"I said don't worry about it! Trust me, it's better if you didn't know."**

* * *

Ichigo shot awake, having fallen onto the floor.

The first thing he noticed was his wounds from Zangetsu's fight were healed.

Second he noticed that the residual Spiritual pressure was Orihime's.

**"She visited last night. Said goodbye."**

"What?!"

**"She's got a thing for you, if you haven't noticed from all the signs she's thrown your way all this time. She said so herself, was pretty torn up. Sounded like she couldn't let you know she was there. Guess whoever said that didn't count on me paying attention."**

"S-She what?! That can't be right…"

**"Youruichi was right."**

"About what exactly?!"

**"Nothin' at all! Now if you'll notice, your soul reaper friends are gathered at her house right now. Seems they 'forgot' to invite you. Let's crash that party."**

Ichigo frowned.

'Toshiro…'

He popped out of his body in his Soul Reaper form and flash stepped as fast as he could to get there.

He noticed the front door was unlocked and went in.

Heads turned as they heard the door open and weapons readied.

"What happened to Orihime?"

"Kurosaki…"

The two traded a look for a few moments before the screen flickered on to reveal Ukitake.

"Ukitake…? Where's the Captain-Commander?" asked Toshiro, shocked.

"I'm taking his place."

"For what reason?"

"Because I was the last person to see Orihime Inoue before she entered the Senkaimon."

Shocked expressions.

"Judging from the looks on your faces it seems she didn't make it over there. I'll tell you what we think; the two guards that went through the gate returned alive. According to them, they think that Orihime Inoue was either abducted or has been killed by the Arrancar."

'Killed…!'

Everyone in the room felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure surge at the word "killed".

"Captain Ukitake…!"

"I didn't want to say it. I'm just talking about possible explanations! According to our information, she was confronted by an Arrancar and disappeared with him."

"Don't give me that shit!" yelled Ichigo, his voice gaining a watery quality to it and his Spiritual Pressure starting to make breathing hard for the others. "You're saying she's dead even though you don't have proof?!" He burst into his hollowfied form. "Don't you just say whatever the hell you want!"

"Kurosaki! Control yourself!" commanded Toshiro.

Ichigo noticed the change and forced himself to calm down.

"Sorry."

Ichigo took a deep breath.

"Look at me," he said, reverting to his Soul Reaper form. "I got the crap kicked out of me yesterday, didn't have the power left to heal it myself, and now I'm all healed!"

He hesitated for a moment.

"Is there something you aren't telling us, Kurosaki?" asked Toshiro in a suspicious tone.

"…According to Zangetsu she visited me last night and said goodbye. She also healed me at that time."

It was nearly a whisper as Ichigo looked away.

"There's also some of her Spiritual Energy left over."

Ichigo could tell how this looked, and wasn't happy, but he knew lying to them would just make his own situation worse.

"I see." A voice off-screen said. "That is unfortunate."

"Captain-Commander…?" mused Rukia as the old man appeared on the screen.

"Unfortunate? You don't mean what I think you do…right?"

"If your story is correct, then Orihime Inoue is decidedly still alive, but at the same time it also suggests an act of betrayal. If she had been abducted she would not have been allowed to see you again. That is to say, the fact she healed your wounds and vanished means that Orihime Inoue joined the Arrancar of her own free will."

Ichigo's spiritual pressure shot up again.

"That's cra-!"

Renji grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Stop. You're just going to make it worse if you keep this up."

Renji turned to the screen.

"I understand, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and from here on out I, Renji Abarai, Squad 6 Vice-Captain and member of Hitsugaya's Advance Squad will got to Hueco Mundo in order to open the eyes of the traitor Orihime Inoue!"

"I forbid it. Now that we know the Arrancar are prepared for war I would like all members of Hitsugaya's Advance Guard to return immediately and assist in the protection of Soul Society."

"Does that mean you're abandoning Orihime Inoue?" asked Rukia, shocked.

"Indeed. There is no point in weighing the life of one person against the fate of the entire world."

"My deepest apologies Captain Commander, but I cannot obey that order."

"I expected as much. I'm glad I prepared for this."

A Senkaimon opened next to the group and Byakuya and Kenpachi both appeared from it.

"That's how it's gonna be," said Kenpachi. "Get going you guys."

"Do not resist," said Byakuya. "We have orders to return you by force if we must."

Ichigo turned and hollowfied.

"I get it. But Orihime's our friend. If Soul Society isn't going to help, then I'll go to Hueco Mundo alone and rescue her myself."

"Ichigo, that's suicide!" yelled Rukia.

"I forbid it," said Yamamoto.

Ichigo stopped.

"Your power will be needed in the upcoming battle. I cannot permit you to act selfishly and die like a dog. Stand by until you receive further orders."

Ichigo continued walking.

'I'm not taking orders from him. From here on out… I'm on my own.'

**"Ichigo… think about this…"**

'There's no time to think about this. You're always telling me to trust my instincts, right? My instincts say to save someone I care about!'

Ichigo vanished in a blur and reappeared outside of his home.

Aiming not to scare his sibling he changed to his Soul Reaper form and opened the window, hopping in and grabbing Kon, placing the pill in his body.

"Do anything to get me in trouble while I'm gone you're in for it."

"Wait, where are you going Ichigo?!"

"To save Orihime."

* * *

Ichigo appeared at the Urahara shop.

"Hello, Ichigo. What brings you here?"

"Where's Nel?"

"Inside."

Ichigo went for the door.

"Let me guess, you're going to Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime?"

"Something like that."

"I'll take you where you need to go."

"I can use Gargantua myself."

"You might wind up way off mark. I can take you to Aizen's doorstep."

"Fine."

They entered the building and Ichigo looked to Nel.

"Leave the Gigai. We're going to Hueco Mundo. Orihime's been taken and we're going to save her and annihilate anyone who gets in our way."

"Ichigo…" Nel shook her head. "I can't do this. I came here to escape the fighting. I'm sorry, but you'll have to do this without me."

Ichigo frowned.

"Alright, I'll respect your wishes. Sorry."

"Be careful, Ichigo."

Ichigo and Urahara walked down the steps.

"I figured Aizen would be after her abilities, but it was too late for me to do anything. I took her feelings into consideration and failed to remove her sooner. That's why I intend to do anything I can to help."

"You'll be disobeying Soul Society's orders; is that okay with you?"

"You're already doing the same thing Ichigo. I should warn you… I've been disobeying them in one way or another from the beginning. That's why I'm here."

"That's a pretty long face, Ichigo."

Ichigo turned.

On a rock above… was Uryuu.

"Uryuu! Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? To go to Hueco Mundo."

This time it was Chad.

"Chad…"

"We heard the news from Urahara. We're going too."

Ichigo, currently in his Soul Reaper form, slid his mask aside.

"You can't. I appreciate the sentiment but… with your power…"

Chad rushed Ichigo with his right arm and Ichigo barely blocked in time.

"Even after that, is my power still not enough, Ichigo? Believe in us Ichigo. Don't carry the burden by yourself. That's what friends are for."

"Yes, yes… Are you all prepared?" asked Urahara.

Ichigo slid his mask back on.

"It seems like you are."

Urahara jumped up one of two wooden posts sticking out of some rocks and placed the bottom of his cane on it.

"In my right hand I hold the stone that connects the borders of worlds. In my left hand I hold the blade that binds existence. The black-haired shepherd. The seat of the noose. A bank of clouds comes, striking us and the crested Ibis."

The air ripped into a Gargantua.

"There's no path inside, just a turbulent flow of spirit particles swirling about. Make a foothold from those and use it to move forward. If you head towards the darkness you should arrive in Hueco Mundo."

"Urahara," Ichigo started. "Take care of my family. Tell them good things so they don't worry about me. Alright?"

"And your friends?"

"I'll apologize to them when I get back."

"Understood."

* * *

As they burst out of the Gargantua Ichigo hollowfied and let out a loud roar.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?!"

"Letting them know we're here."

"So much for the element of surprise…"

"We won't need it. I know I won't. I'm a hollow. We're in Hueco Mundo. I'm at my best here."

'At least I hope I am.'

They looked around; they appeared to be in some sort of building.

"Pretty decent. I've never seen a building here before," commented Ichigo "Just a forest, desert, and some caves. Is this really Hueco Mundo?"

Suddenly a large arm appeared from the shadows.

"Who are you guys?"

The group started running.

"Wait, why are we running?!" asked Ichigo.

"Are you stupid?! If we fight in a cramped place like this and the building collapses, what'll we do then?!" yelled Uryuu back.

"maybe it won't! There's no signs that it would!"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?! Observe your surroundings! There's not a single window, which means we're underground!"

"Oh…"

"Let's find a more open place!"

"Uryuu, look there! We're about to get out of here!"

They left the corridor to a massive room.

"What a big room…" Commented Chad.

"There, is this good enough Uryuu?"

"Stairs! They might connect to the outside!"

Uryuu made a break for them.

"I'll go check!"

"Hey!"

An Arrancar with a beak-like mask appeared in front of the Quincy however.

"Where are you going, intruder?"

Uryuu turned to face the first Arrancar.

"It seems that we've been flanked."

"Are these guys even Arrancar? They seem an awful lot like normal hollows compared to the ones that came to our world," Ichigo noted. "Well whatever. You two step asi-!"

Ichigo took an elbow to the head, de-hollowfying and flying into the wall.

"What're you doing Chad?!"

"The one who's going to step aside is you, Ichigo," said Chad.

"We'll…"

"…Take care of this."

"What are you…!"

"We got the intelligence on the Arrancar from Urahara; the group that the Arrancar known as Grimmjow brought with him was a mix of Gillians and Adhudjas. A Menos usually takes on a human shape when it becomes an Arrancar. The only ones that seem to get a 100% human form are the Vasto Lordes. For the remaining two levels, there are many who don't get a completely human form, despite becoming Arrancar. Therefore… " He pushed up his glasses. "The closer it looks to a hollow, the lower its power of reasoning."

The larger Arrancar sent a punch at Uryuu, who swiftly dodged.

"Uryuu!" yelled Chad, running from some blasts behind him.

"I take exception to those comments," said the beaked Arrancar. "Not just Demora, but you're saying that even I, Iceringer have a 'lower power of reasoning'? I could never overlook such a comment."

"Ice you bastard! Dun talk like I'mma only dummy!"

Ichigo watched as his friends swiftly dealt with their enemies.

Suddenly the roof started cracking.

"What the…?!"

"It looks like it's gonna collapse!"

"Probably cause you guys went wild! Who was it saying all that crap about being underground again?"

"you're wrong…" said one of the Arrancar. "This room was designed like this. We are the guards of this lace. If we should fall, so shall this room. Remember this; there is no end to this fight, and there is no victory ahead of you."

"Quick, to the stairs! Yelled Uryuu.

The three hurried up the staircase as the room collapsed behind them.

They just barely made it out alive.

"Somehow we got out… Those guys from before.. This is their base, there should at least be a way out… Wait…"

Ichigo looked around.

"This is Hueco Mundo…"

"These plants are all withered," commented Chad.

"No," said Uryuu, breaking off a bit of one. "They're made of a quartz-like substance. "

Ichigo looked behind them.

"Uh… guys?"

"A castle… or a palace?" mused Uryuu. "Is this the "Las Noches" place those guys were talking about?"

"It's friggen huge…"

"Look… those quartz trees are like needles."

"The sense of distance seems weird, "noted Chad. "The real thing is probably even bigger…"

"I'm glad I'm able to see it from a distance, " said Uryuu.

"Does seeing it change anything?"

"It makes me feel better than not being able to see it," said Chad."

"Anyway," said Chad "It's a safe bet that Orihime is somewhere inside there."

"Probably," agreed Uryuu "There doesn't seem to be anywhere else they could hide her."

"Let's run," said Ichigo "because if we take it slow we might get into another fight."

* * *

"Jeez… We run and we run but it doesn't feel like we're getting any closer!" groaned Ichigo from the sandy ground. "Is that palace even really there? It's not a Mirage, right?"

"There's no way we could see one here," said Uryuu. "Shall I explain the theory behind mirages so that it's easy to understand? To begin with, a mirage is-!"

"No thanks!"

Ichigo noticed a small lizard with a hole and a mask run past and crawl under the sand.

"Huh. That's a first. I've been here a few times before, but I've never really noticed all these smaller life forms. Guess I was too busy fighting. Say, aren't human souls the main source of food for hollows? What do you suppose the little ones eat to survive?"

"Hueco Mundo has a high level of spirit particles in the atmosphere," informed Uryuu. "Perhaps the small ones are able to get enough nourishment just by breathing."

"How do you know that?"

"Because the Quincy are clan that fight using spirit particles around them. We do better when the concentration is high. I confirmed that in the last fight; if I get the hang of it, I should be able to use my powers much better here than in the Human world or Soul Society."

"Huh. You might have a point; I feel all…tingly out here. I can't really explain it, you know that feeling you get when you get in a bath that's just the right temperature or you go outside on a day when it's not too hot and not too cold? It's like that."

"Of course; you're part hollow, it's only logical you'd feel good here."

Ichigo nodded.

"Uh.. you guys don't mind if I.. Y'know… while we're out here, right?"

"As long as you don't try to kill us, then no," Uryuu said bluntly.

Ichigo clawed over his mask and hollowfied, stretching.

"Ah, that feels much better. Was like being in warm clothes in the summer before."

He stood up, feeling the sand between his toes.

"Let's get going then. Can't sit here all day."

Suddenly the ground started shaking and a large being of sand with a mask rose up.

"I'm the guard of white sand, Runuganga! You must be the intruders. I'll turn you all to sand!"

Ichigo grabbed his blade and pulled it back.

"Getsuga… Tensho!"

The wave of red and white energy cut through the giant's mask.

"There."

Suddenly the head began to reform.

"No regret, intruder? You will not be forgiven!"

"What the hell?! Uryuu, what are we going to do? Can't you shoot it with your bow?"

"Impossible. An arrow would just put a hole in it."

"Want me to try?" asked Chad.

Ichigo growled and turned, lowering his horns.

"Cero Gigante!"

The large blast fired and blew the top half of the being apart, but to Ichigo's horror it quickly reformed.

"Ichigo, if your Getsuga didn't work why would you think Cero would!?"

"I don't know I figured that maybe cause he's a hollow a hollow attack would work!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

"Screw it, let's just get out of here!"

"I'm not letting you get away!" said the large hollow.

Suddenly a sinkhole opened beneath their feet.

"Crap!"

Ichigo, Chad and Uryuu grabbed onto the edge of the sinkhole somehow.

"He's got to have a weakness… Maybe water?! But where would we find that here?!"

"Tsugi no mai! Hakuren!"

Ichigo's eyes widened and he turned as he climbed out of the sinkhole.

The monster was frozen solid.

He turned to his left and saw Rukia and Renji.

"Rukia! Renji! Why are you here?!"

Ichigo received an uppercut from Rukia and a punch to the cheek from Renji, the latter cracking his mask, which again promptly healed itself.

Ichigo was now face down in the sand.

"Fool! Why did you enter Hueco Mundo on your own?! Why didn't you wait for me to return!?"

Ichigo sat up and looked at her.

"But you left like that, I didn't know if you were gonna come back or…"

"Of course I was going to come back!" Rukia yelled. "By any means necessary! Both Renji and I planned that from the start! Why didn't you wait for it? Why didn't you have faith in that? We are you allies, aren't we, Ichigo?"

Ichigo wished he could rub his temples at the moment, but he couldn't be bothered to change back for just that, so he did the best he could to place his hand on the "temples" of the mask and sighed.

"Sorry… I guess I was just kinda steamed that Old Man Yamamoto ordered me around like that. That and there's the way Toshiro's been looking at me, the mess with Tatsuki… I've been under a lot of stress lately, I'm sorry Rukia."

"It's good that you realize your mistake, Ichigo. Do not make me confirm something like that ever again, no matter the reasons! Let's go! Don't just stand there! We're going to rescue Orihime, right?"

"Oh yeah, what's up with those cloaks? You guys pick em up somewhere?"

"These..." Rukia started. "We were told to take these because the dust clouds in Hueco Mundo are pretty bad."

"By who?"

Rukia blushed a bit and looked away.

"My brother…"

"Wait… then the one who sent you here was Byakuya?!"

"Well the one who opened up Gargantua was Urahara," said Renji. "But we were able to come to the human world thanks to the Captain."

"Brother said 'The only orders I received were to bring you all back'," informed Rukia. "'I did not receive any orders regarding what to do with you after that. Do as you wish.'"

"That Byakuya…" said Ichigo, somewhat annoyed.

"And then he said 'those in Hueco Mundo will probably be displeased to have such a filthy-looking hollow wandering around by himself.'"

'That bastard!'

Ichigo growled and got up, walking over to the wall of the structure before them.

"So what're we gonna do about this wall?"

Rukia went over and put her hand on it.

"It doesn't seem to be made of Sekkiseki…"

"If it isn't that, we can just do this with force!" declared Ichigo.

Ichigo cracked his knuckles and lowered his horns again.

He fired a Cero and blew a huge hole in the wall.

"Was that enough?" he asked.

The group peered inside.

"Seems like it," said Renji. "There's wind coming through."

"Let's go then."

The group ran for a while before Ichigo piped up.

"Man this is a thick wall, how long does it go on? It's so dark I can't see anything too!"

"No choice then, leave this to me!" said Renji.

"You've got something up your sleeve?"

"Shut up and watch! If you tweak it a bit, Kido can be used for things like this too. Hado 31, Shakkahou!"

There was a small smoking red orb in Renji's hand.

"Heh, that's a pretty small light," said Uryuu. "I didn't know you were the conservative type."

"Fool," said Rukia. "You know you're bad at Kido, yet you still try to be cool by skipping the chant."

"Don't worry," said Ichigo "We can follow the brightness of your red hair! You know how it goes! Rudolph with his nose so bright~-"

"PUT A SOCK IN IT!"


	9. Las Noches

Chapter 9

Los Noches

The group eventually reached a proper hallway as opposed to the hole Ichigo had made.

"It seems we've made it through," noted Uryuu.

"Of course this place is dark too," said Chad.

Suddenly torches lit up.

Multiple paths were in front of them.

"A crossroads…" murmured Uryuu.

"What a pain in the ass," complained Renji.

"There's a strong Spiritual Pressure ahead. Plenty of them," Ichigo noted. "We gonna draw straws? 5 paths, 5 of us."

"I don't think that would be very wise, considering our opponents," Uryuu said.

"Ichigo is right," Rukia said. "We all take one path."

"Everyone here can handle themselves I think," said Ichigo, not wanting to be berated for underestimating his friends again.

He was concerned, but he knew they were all strong and could most likely handle themselves, and he could be there to help them quickly should the need arise.

Or at least try; he remembered the sound thrashing that Grimmjow had given Zangetsu and himself.

'If the other Espada are that strong…'

He shook his head.

'Can't worry about that.'

"Let's do a little chant before we go!" said Renji.

"A chant?"

"Yeah. You do it before a decisive battle. It's almost like a tradition in the Gotei 13."

Ichigo de-hollowfied and slid his mask to the side.

"Lately it's gone out of style and almost no-one does it," Renji continued. "But I thought it's something that would be done at a time like this."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look! I think it's lame too!"

The group placed their hands on top of each other in a circle.

"We, at this moment, head into the decisive battle! Have faith that our blades will not shatter! Have faith that our hearts will not waver! And even if our paths should diverge, we all share a heart of iron! Swear that even if the ground beneath us should be rent asunder… We will live and return to this place again!"

They broke and ran off down different corridors.

**"Ichigo, got a request!"**

'What's that Zangetsu?'

**"Let me fight! I want to cut loose and tear apart an enemy! They're Arrancar so it's okay to kill em, right?"**

'Fine, but whoever's watching Orihime is mine.'

**"Yeah yeah, I understand."**

Ichigo stepped back and a mad grin spread across "Ichigo's" face.

Maniacal laughter echoed the hallways of Los Noches.

Suddenly Zangetsu stopped.

**"I know yer there partner! Come on out!"**

A beam on the top of the hallway broke and Zangetsu saw a blur.

**"You ain't getting away from me! Getsuga TENSHO!"**

The beam the being was about to land on was destroyed and something fell to the ground.

**"Oi, you dead?"**

"TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The being coughed and when the smoke cleared it left an Arrancar with a mask fragment on his forehead with a moustache and sideburns.

"Hey!"

Zangetsu stared at him with a deadpan expression before his face turned to a grin once more.

**"Stop prancin' around like a pansy and fight!"**

Zangetsu charged the Arrancar and drew his blade.

However, he kept the mask slid to the side.

He was shocked however as a cut appeared on his shoulder.

**"You think a little papercut is gonna stop me, Arrancar?!"**

Zangetsu whirled around and fired a Getsuga, nearly screaming its name.

The Arrancar stopped it with a foot.

Zangetsu growled and spun his blade by the cloth before launching it at the Arrancar… who swatted it away.

**"How the hell is some goofball like you so strong?!"**

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to judge others by their appearances Nino? I am what is called a Privaron Espada. It means "Fallen Espada." I am Arrancar 103 Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio!"

**"Some call me Zangetsu. Some call me 'Hollow'. I say who I am ain't important, cause I am who I am!"**

Dordoni brought a kick down which Zangetsu blocked with his blade.

The Arrancar leapt into the air, using the blade as a means to do so.

Zangetsu vanished and quickly spun the blade by its cloth and threw it again.

It missed, and Zangetsu got kicked through a wall.

He pulled the blade back and managed to land on one knee.

"Your feet aren't something you should be going out of your way to confirm with your eyes."

**"Wha- OOF!"**

Zangetsu got kicked into the wall again.

**"Grrr… I"LL RIP YOU APART! Getsuga TENSHO!"**

Zangetsu let loose another attack, except this one corkscrewed.

When the smoke cleared the Arrancar was gone.

Zangetsu frantically looked around, blade ready, nearly drawing blood from how tightly he was gripping the handle.

"Your reactions are slow and your defense is brittle. You can't even adapt to changes in your footing. It's almost like fighting a toddler!"

**"SHUT UP!"**

"Bankai. DO it, Nino. I won't mince words. As you are you won't be able to beat me, no matter what you do."

**"You wanna bet?! CERO!"**

Zangetsu fired a red blast from his palm, which the man simply kicked away.

**"GRAH! FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID KICKS!"**

Zangetsu blocked another kick and the Arrancar grabbed the blade.

"Do not underestimate me, Nino!"

The Arrancar released the blade and drew his own partially.

"Wind, Giralda!"

A tornado surrounded the Arrancar and caught up Zangetsu as well.

"What are you doing? Prepare yourself. Let's go."

Zangetsu roared in frustration and hurled the most powerful Getsuga he could muster at the man.

A beak-like appendage came out of the tornadoes that came from the Arrancar's limbs and shot straight through the blast, pinning Zangetsu to the ground before throwing him into the air.

"Go Bankai, Nino! You're going to die!"

**"GRAH! FINE! BANKAI!"**

Zangetsu burst into Bankai and was on the Arrancar Immediately, grabbing his face and tossing him into a wall before his blade glowed black and red and he sent out several Getsuga one after another.

**"DIE! REGRET YOUR DECISION! HAHAHAH!"**

Zangetsu tossed his blade up into the air and rubbed his hands together before charging a cero in both.

**"CERO DE DOS MANOS!"**

The two blasts fired and joined into one larger blast.

Zangetsu caught his sword, twirled it by the chain and caught it in his hand once more.

**'Did…I…Get him?'**

"That is what I'm talking about, Nino! I actually felt that one!"

One of his shoulder horns had been blown clean off and blood ran down his arm.

**"You asked for this partner! Get ready to die!"**

Zangetsu vanished in a blur and sped over to the ex-Espada, before lobbing his right arm clean off.

**"Damn, I was going for your leg! I guess I got so mad that I wasn't thinking straight! Oh well!"**

The Arrancar sent one of its appendages after Zangetsu… who split it down the center with one stroke of his blade.

Another came to flank him, but Zangetsu turned and fired a Cero, obliterating its "head".

**"Face it partner, you're done. You weren't bad… but I can see why you got kicked out of th' Espada."**

Zangetsu gathered a Getsuga in his blade and sliced right down Dordoni's torso.

Zangetsu proceeded to charge a cero and blow away his head before twirling his bankai's blade a few times on one finger and walking off.

Suddenly he stopped.

**"Hm… I wonder if…"**

He looked at the corpse.

**"Worth a try."**

X

'I can't believe you ATE him!'

**"I can't believe how effective it was! It seems that since Arrancar are hybrids they make better power sources for us. Maybe eating em' could even fix 'that'…"**

'Fix what?'

**"Nothin' Ichigo. Don't worry about it."**

Zangetsu whistled a tune as he walked through the massive, empty halls of Los Noches, spinning his sword the whole time until he decided it'd be better to return to Shikai, at which point he rested the blade on his shoulders instead of stowing it on his back.

'Chad!'

**"Oh yeah. Him."**

'Don't just 'Oh yeah, Him' me! He's-!'

**"He'll be fine. I can tell. His opponent fell to him, then a stronger power brought him down. Tempted to go after the guy who beat him, but I can't be bothered cause' you probably wanna go rescue Orihime, right? Ain't that why ya came here?"**

'You're right. Chad will be fine.'

**"Nothin' to worry about partner."**

They walked a bit longer before they ran into a couple of Arrancar who were just chatting.

**"Che. Free food!"**

Zangetsu ran at them and drew his blade, laughing like crazy.

To his surprise the two Arrancar screamed and cried, hugging each other and begging for mercy.

One was tall and thin, with blonde hair and a mask that covered his right eye and had what appeared to be pseudo-horns on the top. The other was a somewhat overweight, darker skinned man who wore the lower jaw of his old mask with parts of it over his eyebrows.

"Please don't kills us mister intruder!"

"At least just kill Pesche!" said the larger one.

"You traitor! If we survive this I'll tell Lord Aizen and you'll be punished!"

Zangetsu looked at them with a deadpan expression.

**'They're almost not worth killing.'**

'Then don't kill them.'

**"OI!"**

The two jumped and answered "Y-yes?!" at the same time.

**"You work for me now. It's that or I kill and eat ya."**

"If we betray Lord Aizen he'll kill us!"

**"Che. I'm not afraid of Aizen. Quit whining and stand up, both of ya!"**

The two snapped to attention.

"Yes sir…?"

**"Zangetsu. You guys know where they're keepin' the human woman Aizen had captured?"**

"That way!"

The two pointed in opposite directions.

Zangetsu facepalmed.

**'Useless!'**

**"Screw it, c'mon."**

The three continued on until Zangetsu felt something that caused him to stop in his tracks and the usual smirk on his face to change to a look of dread.

**'Rukia.'**

'Is she…?!'

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes and growled.

"So you noticed?"

Zangetsu slowly turned to see Ulquiorra walking down stairs behind him.

Pesche and Dondochakka held onto each other, terrified.

"I thought you were just a mere brute who only swung his sword around, but apparently you do possess some sense after all."

**"You… Ulquiorra…"**

"It's been a while, Soul Reaper."

**"Bastard…"**

"It seems you remember my name; I don't recall telling it to you."

**"Your buddies don't seem t' like you much either; they said it plenty. "**

"Rukia Kuchiki is dead."

**"Liar! She wouldn't die that easy!"**

'Zangetsu…'

"More accurately, she and the Noveno Espada killed each other at the same time. Her body was slashed all over and impaled with a spear. She is no longer alive."

**"Her power ****_just _****faded now, you ain't even fighting her, how would you know?"**

"Cognition Synchronization. It's one of the Noveno Espada's abilities as well as one of his duties. He is able to convey all the information about the enemy he's fought to all of his comrades instantly."

Zangetsu turned away.

"Where are you going?"

**"T' save Rukia of course. You stupid or somethin'?"**

"I believe I told you she's dead."

**"I believe you can kiss my ass!"**

Zangetsu whipped around and fired a Cero at Ulquiorra, who was unphased.

"Stubborn aren't we? Is it alright to leave without killing me first?"

**"I'll be back for you once I get Rukia."**

"What do you mean?"

**"I mean she's more important than you, ya bastard."**

'Do you…?'

**'Shut up, Ichigo.'**

"What if I told you that I was the one who brought Orihime Inoue to Hueco Mundo?"

'What?!'

Zangetsu instantly felt Ichigo trying to take control.

He fought it back.

**'We have to get to Rukia!'**

'After I wring that bastard's neck!'

**'ICHIGO! Think about this rationally! Rukia's life or petty revenge, which is more important to you right now?!'**

Ichigo stopped fighting for a moment.

'Give me back my body.'

**'Fine! If Rukia dies, it's on your head!'**

Ichigo hollowfied and turned, bringing his blade down on Ulquiorra, who blocked with an arm.

"So have you found a reason to fight me?"

"Yeah. Sorry though… I'm in a hurry."

Ichigo unleashed his Bankai.

"Bankai?"

Ichigo poured power into his sword and charged at Ulquiorra, who swatted him away through several pillars.

Ichigo managed to right himself eventually and charged the biggest Getsuga he'd ever fired.

"It's over. Getsuga… TENSHO!"

Ulquiorra blocked it with one hand and then two.

"Ridiculous."

The attack exploded.

"Wow that was amazing!" said Pesche.

"You just blew away an Espada like they were nothing!" agreed Dondochakka.

"You two can go find Rukia. She should be in that Espada's arena or whatever I guess."

The two nodded and ran off.

Suddenly Ichigo felt a strong power behind him.

He turned… and saw Ulquiorra unharmed, bar a tear in his jacket.

"No…Way…!"

"I wasn't able to stop it even using both my hands. That surprised me a bit. Was that just now your full power?"

Ichigo was speechless.

"Either way, that's how it seems. How disappointing."

He raised a finger and fired a massive cero.

Ichigo fired his own back but it was easily overwhelmed and he was launched outside.

He took the opportunity to try and run, but Ulquiorra effortlessly caught up with him.

Ichigo got launched into a different structure and slowly pushed himself up from under some rubble, looking up at the Cuatro Espada.

"At the moment my Cero was about to strike, you retaliated with your own, didn't you? A fine high-speed reaction. However, it wasn't strong enough, nothing like the Cero you used on Yammy. Now you've got nothing else up your sleeves. Surrender."

Ichigo moved his hand into a claw over his mask but before he could move it Zangetsu stopped the arm.

**"No Ichigo. I can't let you do that."**

'Why not!? Answer me Zangetsu!'

**"If you hollowfy in your Bankai you will die!"**

Ichigo slowly lowered his hand.

"Surrender," said Ulquiorra.

Ichigo thrust his sword at Ulquiorra's chest, penetrating his jacket.

"Who the fuck would surrender to you?! You're the top Espada, right? If I beat you it's the same as winning this whole battle!"

"So that's it…"

Ulquiorra used the blade's tip to slide away his jacket.

Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Too bad for you then."

A number "4" was stamped on his chest.

"Only…number four?!"

"Yes. Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer."

Ichigo's mask suddenly felt heavy and shattered, the hole usually present in his chest sealing up.

'What….?'

Suddenly he felt a new pain; Ulquiorra had pierced his chest with his hand.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you have absolutely no chance of defeating me. Even if you were somehow to defeat me, there are still three others even more powerful than I for you to deal with. Thus, no matter if you stand back up a thousand times, a path to victory doesn't exist. It seems that I was overestimating you. Your progress failed to meet my expectations. In fact, you seem to have simply gotten weaker. This is as far as you go. If you can still move as you are, leave Las Noches at once. If you cannot, then die where you are."

Ichigo's Bankai dissipated and he returned to his Shikai, all hollow features absent.

'Zangetsu….Why?!'

He passed out.

* * *

Ichigo woke up in his inner world.

It was raining.

"Zan…getsu… ZANGETSU?! WHERE ARE YOU?"

**"Here… partner."**

The white "him" appeared next to him.

"Why did you take away my power?!"

**"Because if you keep using it you'll surely die. If you die, I die, simple as that. The most I can allow you to use your hollow powers… Is 11 seconds at a time."**

"What?! Why?!"

**"I just told you!"**

"How would having more power get me killed?!"

**"Because you'd eventually ignore me and hollowfy in Bankai anyway."**

"Why is that a bad thing?! How will it get me killed?"

Zangetsu sighed and sat down on the building, looking away from Ichigo and resting an arm on his knee.

**"Cause' you'll go crazy."**

"what…?!"

**"If you hollowfiy while in Bankai your power will become too much for you to handle and you'll go crazy. I won't be in control, you won't be in control, it'll be a pure, stupid hollow with tons of power. If you want an easy way to get everyone t' turn on us, hollowfy in Bankai. They'll have a mindless beast to kill."**

"Maybe. Or maybe I can find some way to control it."

**"Ichigo are you insane? You can't control something that primitive! It's your base, primal instinct! It's more core to you than I am!"**

"If it's primal maybe I can 'teach' it somehow."

**"If you're this adamant about this, then fine, I'll see what I can do. But no promises and you won't be able to hollowify until I say so!"**

"Fine by me. I'm counting on you, Zangetsu."

**"We're bein' healed. Wake up and see what's goin' on, Ichigo."**

* * *

"Ugh…. Ori…hime?"

Ichigo looked up and saw Orihime standing over him healing him.

"Ichigo!"

"Shut up! If you have time to talk then hurry up and fix him!"

"Wait… You're Grimmjow!" Ichigo said, noticing the Espada. "Why are you with Orihime?"

"Shut up and get healed! The only reason I'm here is to settle things with the uninjured you!"

"So that's why you're making me heal…!"

"SHUT UP I SAID! I'm allowing you to heal this bastard so stop complaining! Just hurry up! It won't take long before Ulquiorra realizes what's going on and comes back! Before that I'll-!"

Ulquiorra appeared behind Grimmjow in a blur.

The blue-haired Arrancar turned.

"Ulquiorra…."

"What are you doing, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow glared at him.

"What's wrong? I'm speaking to you. What are you trying to pull, healing the wounds of an enemy I defeated?"

Silence.

"No response?"

More silence.

"Very well then. In any case, Lord Aizen has entrusted that girl to me. Hand her over."

"Fuck you," replied Grimmjow.

"What did you say?"

"What's the matter? You got a lot to say today, don't you Ulquiorra!?"

Grimmjow reached for Ulquiorra and charged a Cero, which was promptly canceled out by Ulquiorra's fist.

"I can see it in you, Ulquiorra. You're scared of fighting me! Scared of ripping us both to shreds!"

Grimmjow fired a cero which Ulquiorra managed to block.

"You diverted it! As I expected, one attack isn't-!"

The pale Espada vanished and reappeared over Grimmjow, who blocked an incoming cero with his own, destroying the structure they were in above them.

In the dust Grimmjow managed to drop a small cube in Ulquiorra's hollow hole.

"Shit."

There was a blink and the Cuatro Espada vanished.

"What just happened?" asked Orihime.

"Aizen gave us Espada a "Caja Negacion", or "Negation Cube" for the purpose of punishing our subordinates. That's what I just used. When deployed on your average Arrancar, it permanently traps them in a sealed Dimension. It wasn't intended to be used on Espada though; with a Spiritual Pressure like his it will probably only hold him for two or three hours. Now that you know, hurry up and heal him."

"…No!"

Grimmjow grabbed her by the throat.

"I wasn't giving you a choice! Heal him!"

"If… I heal…Ichigo… you're just going to hurt him again…! There's… no way… That I could let that happen..!"

"You bitch!"

Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow's arm, barely standing.

"Let go of her. Now."

Ichigo forced his arm away from her.

"Orihime, heal me."

"…What?"

"Please heal my injuries, and also heal Grimmjow's."

"Don't. I didn't ask for your sympathy."

"That isn't what I meant but you wanted a fair fight, right? Or… do you want to save those wounds so you have an excuse when you lose?"

The two crossed blades.

"Excellent! Let's have our fight to the death on equal grounds!"

After a while the two were both fully healed.

Orihime gave him a concerned look.

"Don't worry. I'm definitely going to win."

Ichigo turned to Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow, let's go elsewhere."

They leapt off the structure and Ichigo went straight to Bankai before the two crossed blades.

The battle went on for a bit before Grimmjow charged a Cero in one hand.

Ichigo almost tried it himself but remembered that he was lacking any hollow power at the moment.

"Getsuga…. !"

Grimmjow charged another in his other hand, the first being blocked by Ichigo's blade.

'Shit!'

The two burst away from one another.

"This is fuckin' great! I've been waiting for this! I was a bit worried when you didn't have your mask, but this is pretty good! I can't wait to crush you with all my might! It's the same for you, right? RIGHT?!"

"I'm not fighting to crush you."

"Don't give me that weak-ass bullshit! Say it! SAY YOU WANT TO KILL ME! I sliced up your friend, so you want to kill me by tearing me apart! I won't let it go. You're gonna learn the reason for me leaving this scar here! I'll make you understand who's top dog by ripping out your throat!"

At some point Grimmjow's blade had found its way into a structure, and he went and pulled it out before returning to Ichigo with a frown.

"What's with that look? Seems you don't have any intention of killing me, you pathetic bastard. What happened to that time we fought before?"

"You weren't fighting me."

"Then bring im' out! He was fun to fight!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. He's off doing god knows what."

"Then I'll just beat you senseless until he has to come out and fight."

"What was that?'

Grimmjow vanished in a blur of Sonido and almost hit Ichigo, who dodged at the last second, and then barely blocked a strike from the Espada.

"So why did you come to Hueco Mundo, Ichigo?"

"I came here to save Orihime!"

"If that's true why didn't you just grab her and run the moment you saw her? Were you relieved to find her physically unharmed, even though you she might be a little fucked up on the inside?!"

"You sick… You SONS OF BITCHES! DID YOU DO SOMETHING TO ORIHIME?!"

Ichigo let out a roar and _forced _his hollow powers from Zangetsu, summoning his mask.

"That's good! Bring out that mask, Ichigo! I like that look in your eyes!"

"What?!"

"You say you came to rescue that woman right? Since you don't seem to get it, I'll spell it out for you: You're wrong. You came here to fight. You can see it, the path your instincts are leading you toward! You're a soul reaper! I'm a hollow! The side that loses is annihilated! It's been that way for a thousand years now! Do we need any other reason to fight?! Bring it on!"

Ichigo vanished and reappeared behind Grimmjow.

"Tell me what you did to Orihime," he said in a low, threatening tone, watery dilution thick in his voice.

"No."

Ichigo roared again and charged at Grimmjow, the two locking swords.

Grimmjow charged a cero in his palm and Ichigo opened his mouth, the mask matching, and fired a bigger cero right back at Grimmjow.

The two attacks hit and Grimmjow was forced back.

He vanished and Ichigo turned and blocked his strike, but only in part as Grimmjow's blade cut his chest.

Ichigo shrugged it off and tried to heal it, but to no avail.

'Shit, guess I don't have all of my powers.'

"You've livened up, Ichigo."

Grimmjow stood knelt next to his blade, which was in the sand.

"But… not enough." He slit his own hand and aimed it at Ichigo, who was still in the air.

"Who I really want to fight isn't you as you are now. This is…"

A sphere of energy gathered in Grimmjow's hand.

"The strongest cero, which only Espada are allowed to do!"

Ichigo looked behind him; Orihime was standing on the remains of a structure.

Right in Grimmjow's line of fire.

"GRIMMJOW NO!"

"GRAN REY CERO!"

Ichigo vanished in blur and put himself between the blast and Orihime, before charging a Cero in both hands.

'Here goes everything!'

"CERO DE DOS MANOS!"

The two blasts connected and Ichigo's won out, blowing away Grimmjow's with ease.

Ichigo stood panting, the blasts having hit his energy reserves hard.

He looked over his shoulder.

"You alright….Orihime?"

"Ichigo…?"

She saw the look in his eyes; they were not the eyes of a protector, they were the eyes of someone who wanted revenge. Someone who had snapped.

"Relax, Orihime. I'll wrap this up soon, and then we'll get everyone else and go back home. I don't know what they said to you or did to you, but I do know one thing."

He turned back to face Grimmjow.

"I'm going to make them pay for it ten times over."

Ichigo vanished in a blur and roared, rushing at Grimmjow.

"GRIND, PANTERA!"

Ichigo was knocked back as Grimmjow released his sword, a cloud of sand going up into the air.

Ichigo vanished and reappeared next to Orihime.

"Put your shield up for the rest of the battle. Don't take it down for a second. Understand?"

Grimmjow let out a roar of his own, and Ichigo felt a strange pressure.

'This kind of pressure just from him shouting?'

Grimmjow was on him in a second, forcing Ichigo to block.

However, Grimmjow was much too fast and kicked Ichigo around a bit, launching him to and fro.

"Th' hell? That's not your full power. Get out of there."

Ichigo appeared behind Grimmjow in a flash.

"Getsuga…Tensho."

A wave of black energy erupted from the sword.

"That's a good look Ichigo! Cause it really pisses me off!"

Grimmjow charged him and shoved him back, the two trading blows again, claws versus steel.

"You're putting up almost as much of a fight as whoever the fuck I was fighting before! I'm impressed, the way you talked earlier made it seem like you were just some pansy! If you weren't trying to kill me it'd be boring though-!"

Grimmjow's claw was gripped in Ichigo's hand.

"If I wasn't trying to kill you, it'd be boring?"

Ichigo brought his blade up and slashed Grimmjow's chest, blood spraying.

"You shouldn't have told me you bastards did something to Orihime. Actually, I should thank you. If you didn't… I couldn't get revenge. Don't you dare leave your released state for a second. I want to enjoy this."

Ichigo sped at Grimmjow, blade burning with energy.

The two once more traded blows at high speed, neither giving up for a second.

* * *

"Look what Ichigo has become."

**"Can't right now, partner. A bit busy trying to…" **the White Zangetsu said as he popped up from a lake, where the majority of Ichigo's hollow powers were focused. **"Holy shit…"**

The buildings around them were on fire and the sky was black with a moon that seemed an eternity away.

**"What… what happened?"**

"Our opponent made a remark that implied they had tampered with Orihime Inoue's mind and since then Ichigo's inner world has been burning."

**"He wants revenge. It rains when he's sad. It burns when he wants blood… Then I'd better get to work."**

"What do you intend to do?"

**"The only way to stop a fire this big is with a flood."**

* * *

Ichigo felt the sharp objects imbed themselves in his flesh.

He looked over to Orihime.

"Ichigo…"

Ichigo looked away and took off again.

"You went to save her? That's one hell of an effort."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, breathing growing heavier.

"What's up? Your breathing's getting heavy. Well…"

He fired more of the objects at a tower behind him, demolishing it.

"You did eat 5 of those. You should be a little shaken up. Still… You at your limit?"

"Who's at their limit? I'm not going to fall over until you're dead."

"Tenacious… that's how I like it."

"You're looking pretty worse for the war yourself," Ichigo said.

"Sorry, but you're dead wrong!"

Slowly but surely Ichigo started making mistakes.

He was furious, livid with Grimmjow, and his pure anger and hate were blinding him, causing him to focus more on trying to kill Grimmjow than defend himself.

Finally he crashed into a pillar, slumped over, mask three quarters shattered.

"Seems you're at your limit. End of the line, Ichigo."

"DON'T DIE, ICHIGO!"

Ichigo's eyes widened.

'Orihime!'

"You don't even have to win… You don't even have to do your best… Just don't…get hurt anymore…!"

Ichigo slowly rose and looked up at her.

'She's crying…'

Grimmjow went to deliver a kick… which Ichigo blocked, grabbing Grimmjow's foot.

"Sorry Grimmjow. It seems that I'm not allowed to get hurt any more than I already am."

Ichigo brought his blade down Grimmjow's torso, spewing blood into the air.

"It's over."

"Don't…" Grimmjow grabbed his blade. "Fuck around with me! You thought… you had me beat.. .with something like that?! ME?! IN THIS FORM?! "

Grimmjow dug his claws into Ichigo's stomach.

"What the hell is with those eyes? You're always like that. NO matter how much I beat you, you think you're stronger than me… Somehow you think you'll still win… Doesn't matter to me if it's you or some other guy who lives in your stupid orange head, the look's the same. I FUCKING HATE THAT!"

Grimmjow knocked Ichigo back again.

"What is it that you hate? Do you hate being looked upon as an equal by me?"

Grimmjow struck his torso again and kicked him.

"It doesn't matter if you're a human or a hollow or a Soul Reaper! Anyone who looks down on me will be crushed! And I'll begin with you, Ichigo!"

He sped past Ichigo and pressed his wrists together.

Huge blades of energy appeared behind them.

"The hell is that…?"

"Desgaron. My strongest technique!"

The curved lines came down at Ichigo, who blocked with his sword.

"This is it, Ichigo! You will lose to me! I AM THE KING!"

Ichigo shifted, dug his blade into one of the lines, and sped up it, splitting it in half.

"I don't want to just defeat you, you know."

The line Ichigo was cutting shattered.

"What'd you say?"

"You said you were gonna start with me. Well, I'm starting with you."

Ichigo easily cut through the next strike, same as the first.

"I'm going to beat you. No, that's not enough. I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life. Then comes Ulquiorra. Then comes Aizen! Then I'm going to take all my friends back with me! I cannot lose to you!"  
Ichigo slashed Grimmjow harder than he had ever before stabbing and twisting his blade in Grimmjow's gut.

"I'm not going to kill you; I'm going to leave you alive. Barely. I'm going to let you suffer the humiliation of this defeat, lie bloodied and beaten until one of your friends saves you, and let you deal with that humiliation too. I'm not just going to hurt you. I'm going to humiliate you," Ichigo whispered as Grimmjow fell.

Ichigo slid away what remained of his mask and went over to Orihime.

"Ichigo…?"

"You're not hurt, right? He mentioned them doing something to you. You're okay… right?"

"Yes, I'm fine!"

"Good. I'm glad you aren't hurt."

"I've always had a good constitution! I haven't caught colds or anything since I was-!"

Ichigo picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"…Little?!" she squeaked. "W-wait, Icihgo! What're you-?!"

"We're going down. It'd be quicker to carry you than to try and find the stairs in this rubble, right?"

"B-but…!"

"What's wrong?"

"Um…. I'm heavy…"

"I don't know what you're talking about, hardly can tell you're even on my shoulder."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I carry round a sword as big as I am, Orihime, and that actually is heavy."

Ichigo let out a chuckle.

"Hang on."

The soul reaper jumped down before setting Orihime down on the sands.

"We should probably get moving. It would be danger-!"

Ichigo heard movement behind him.

He turned to see Grimmjow, barely standing.

"Grimmjow..."

Ichigo raised his blade in front of Orihime.

Grimmjow's armor sealed itself.

"Like…I'd…Lose… There's… Ther's no way… THAT I COULD LOSE TO YOU!"

He charged, but Ichigo dropped his own blade, easily gripping Grimmjow's arm and dodging the strike.

"It's over. You lost. Accept it. I don't know if you're a King or what, but crushing everyone you despise and standing alone as the king… there's no fun in something like that. If you despise me then I'll fight you as much as you want, so knock it off."

Grimmjow pulled away.

"GO FUCK YOURSELF! YOU'RE-!"

A crescent-shaped blade hit Grimmjow's shoulder.

"You just don't know when to give up? Hurry and die; the soul reaper is mine."

"Nntoria you bastard…"

"You aren't dead yet?!"

Ichigo brought up his blade to defend the wounded Grimmjow.

"What're you doing?"

"That's my line. You're trying to cut down a guy who can't move, and who's your comrade at that!"

"This must suck for you, Grimmjow! Losing and then watching the guy who beat you save your life! What's your name, Soul Reaper?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"I'll remember that… but only during the short while that you're still alive!"

'I can't fight this, we need to run!'

Ichigo growled and his mask restored.

**"Guess who's back~?"**

'About damn time!

**" has been updated! Please refer to your user manual for proper instructions!"**

'Smartass! Can I use my hollow powers?'

**"Yeah. What're you gonna do? You can't carry both of em at once."**

'Yes I can!'

Ichigo vanished in a blur, grabbed up Orihime around the waist, who clung to him for dear life and blushed and then grabbed Grimmjow under his arm.

"You…Bastard…what are you…?!"

"Shut up, less bitching more running!"

Ichigo vanished in a blur of Sonido and Flash Step.

"Where the fuck…?! Dammit!"

* * *

Pesche and Dondochakka jumped as Ichigo appeared next to them and the fallen figure of Rukia.

"Orihime, think you can heal all three of us at once? I'd heal myself but I'm a bit low on spirit energy."

"I… I can try."

"Focus on those two first actually, I can keep watch."

She nodded.

"Pesche! Dondochakka! Turn on us and you're dead."

"R-Right!"

"You keep guard up too."

Thankfully Ichigo was so fast that Espada hadn't managed to keep up with them.

Unfortunately he had burned all his power using his speed.

'I could get off maybe one solid Getsuga or a Cero, then I'd probably be spent.'

Ichigo felt Rukia's power spike for a moment.

'She'll be okay.'

After Rukia had been healed she remained unconscious and Orihime moved to Ichigo.

"What about Grimmjow?"

"I don't trust him, Ichigo, and… I don't think you should either!"

"If all he wants to do is fight me then it's fine. I don't think he'll specifically target either of you. I doubt he'll wind up like Nel at all, but at least he'll only want to kill me, right?"

Orihime frowned and continued healing Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed and allowed her to, feeling his strength come back and his wounds heal.

Suddenly Ichigo felt a very familiar spiritual pressure.

"…Oh shit."

"What is it Ichigo?"

"Kenpachi. He's here."


	10. Burning Alive

Chapter 10

Burning Alive

Ichigo immediately hollowfied and lowered his spiritual pressure as much as he could.

"Ichigo, w-what are you doing?!"

"If I lower my spiritual pressure and dilute it by making it more hollow –like, Kenpachi won't be able to find me. I hope at least."

Ichigo sat down on some rubble next to Rukia and ran his hand down his masked face with a long sigh.

"Someone else is here too. I can't tell who from their spiritual pressure though. Definitely a Soul Reaper though."

Rukia groaned.

"You're awake. Hey."

"Ichigo?"

"Feeling better?"

Rukia looked to her left and saw Orihime.

"You've rescued her then? What of the others?"

"We need to find somewhere safer than this and go get Chad. He's beat up pretty bad too."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Wait, there's more of them! One of them… I can't tell who it is, but one's going to Chad."

"That's Captain Unohana! She'll handle Chad, we need to-!"

They felt two more spiritual pressures approaching.

One Arrancar… and one soul reaper.

"I know that spiritual pressure! That's-!"

"Ichigo Kurosaki. We meet again."

"Brother…"

"I see you have secured the girl, Orihime Inoue."

He noticed the Arrancar in the healing barrier next to her.

"May I ask why she is healing that Arrancar?"

"His own comrade struck him down when I'd already beaten him. It wouldn't have been right to me to just leave him after that. Who knows, maybe he could buy us some time when we leave?"

"Like hell. I'm only interested in fighting you, Kurosaki."

The barrier went away and Grimmjow stood up, walking over to Byakuya and eyeing him, observing him.

"You're a Captain eh? You don't seem all that tough to me."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Remove this hollow before I remove him myself."

"You pickin' a fight Soul Reaper?"

"Grimmjow, not now! Can't you-!"

"He's a lower-ranking Espada. He's trash to me. Zommari Rureaux is his name."

Grimmjow started walking back the way they'd come.

"Where are you going, Grimmjow?!"

"Fuck off, I don't take orders from you. I'm going to beat the pulp out of that asshole Nnoitra."

"You-! Fine. C'mon Orihime, Rukia. Let's get Chad, meet up with Uryuu and Renji, and then get out of here."

As the two headed off they ran into a familiar face.

However, he screamed when he saw Ichigo.

"Calm down Hanatarou! It's me, Ichigo!"

He looked from behind his arms.

"R…Really?"

"Yeah, I've got Rukia and Orihime with me too."

The two finally caught up to Ichigo.

Rukia hit Ichigo.

"Idiot! You know we can't move as fast as you! Slow down!"

"Sorry… Geez."

"Then… I guess I'm not really needed, haha…"

"Byakuya might need you; I think you should hang out nearby but you shouldn't get too close, " Said Ichigo. "The guy he was gonna fight seemed pretty tough."

"R-right, will do!"

The group ran ahead before a man in white blurred into existence.

He had a chin strip and messy, greasy hair.

"Sorry. Truth is, I don't like doing troublesome things like this." He reappeared next to Orihime. "I'm gonna borrow her for a bit."

Before Ichigo could even draw his blade the Arrancar vanished with Orihime.

"Dammit! So close! I should have opened a Gargantua and gotten us out of here, but it completely slipped my mind to do that! I'm so stupid!"

Suddenly a familiar voice appeared from nowhere and everywhere.

"Can you hear me, members of the intruding forces?"

"Aizen…" Ichigo growled.

"Allow me to first convey my respect for having felled so many of the Espada. More importantly, we will now commence our invasion of the human world."

"What?!"

"Where's Orihim-!" started Rukia.

"I am placing Orihime Inoue in tower number 5. If you'd like to rescue her, come and take her back. She is no longer of any use to me. Her ability is Awe-inspiring. The "Rejection of Events" is a power that far exceeds the realm of what is permitted to humans. The highest levels of Soul Society understood the significance of this ability, and that is why her abduction served as a means of eliciting such a sense of crisis in Soul Society that they would strengthen their own defenses rather than those of the human world."

Ichigo's mind went back to the speech Yamamoto had given.

"She was also the bait to lure the Ryoka, including Soul Society's new military asset, the "Substitute Soul Reaper" to Hueco Mundo. Moreover, I have succeeded in imprisoning in Hueco Mundo the four captains who came to reinforce them. This will be too easy; we will destroy Karakura Town and create the King's Key."

"Karakura…?! Shit!"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Byakuya approached from behind him.

"The Captain commander gave instructions to Urahara Kisuke; one of them was to ensure that the Captains of Soul Society could wage war in Karakura Town."

Ichigo snapped around, Spiritual Pressure burning brightly.

"He WHAT?!"

"Do not let your anger get the better of you and remain silent, boy. Simply deploying Captains to the human world is not "making it possible to wage war". Kisuke Urahara used a very elaborate and advanced technique to replace the real Karakura with a replica by moving the Real Karakura Town to the Soul Society's outskirts and a false duplicate to its former location. The inhabitants are all asleep and in Soul Society for the duration of this war."

Ichigo calmed slightly.

"Then that just leaves saving Orihime and regrouping with the others; then I can open a Gargantua and get everyone back to fight."

Ichigo closed his eyes and reached out.

He felt Orihime… and Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra's back."

"Who?" asked Rukia.

"The Cuatro Espada."

Ichigo turned to the wall that was the right direction and fired a Cero, blowing it down.

"Can you beat him?"

"I hope so."

Ichigo paused.

"Zangetsu said if I hollowify while in Bankai I'll go crazy. I won't have any control over my body and it'll just go on a mindless rampage."

"…"

"If I'm lucky he'll have figured out some way around that before I get there. I'm not sure if Bankai will cut it."

Ichigo vanished in a Sonido.

* * *

Ichigo stopped when his blade met that of an Arrancar's.

"You will go no further, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Fuck you," Ichigo spat, charging a Cero Gigante between his horns. "Get the fuck out of my way!"

Ichigo fired the attack.

He knew he hadn't killed the enemy, but he'd wounded him enough so that he wouldn't be followed.

He could sense Renji, Rukia, and Chad approaching.

'Sorry you guys, I'm going to leave you to deal with them.'

Ichigo flew right where he sensed them and charged a Cero, blasting the wall down.

He flew into the room and stared down Ulquiorra, letting out a roar of defiance before flying right at him, grabbing his head, and flinging him across the room.

"Get…Away…From…Orihime! BANKAI!"

Ichigo burst into his Bankai and motioned for Orihime to get behind him.

"Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head.

"Good."

The dust cleared and Ulquiorra walked a few steps towards Ichigo.

"That was impressive. It almost felt like I'd been hit by a hollow. However, as much as you may look like or feel like a hollow, you cannot be a hollow. You are just a human who has powers that resemble a hollow's."

"You wanna make a bet?"

"I have been ordered to protect Los Noches. Killing you is synonymous with protecting this place. I will eradicate you…" Ulquiorra drew his blade. "With my sword."

"That's unexpected," said Ichigo. "I didn't think you'd draw your sword right from the get-go. I came here thinking 'I'll start by making him draw his sword". Is it safe to say you see me as a serious opponent?"

"At the very least I recognize you as a target that must be destroyed."

"That'll do."

Ichigo and Ulquiorra crossed swords for the first time.

The two traded strikes, neither hitting each other, steel meeting steel until Ulquiorra leapt over Ichigo, dodging a swing.

"Getsuga… TENSHO!"

Ichigo fired the attack, but Ulquiorra cut through it with ease.

He then vanished in a blur, causing Ichigo to have to turn to block.

The two traded blows some more before Ulquiorra charged a Cero on his finger.

Ichigo mimicked the action with three and his Cero met it dead even.

"You managed to match my Cero with your own. You seem to have gotten stronger. Is it because you defeated Grimmjow? Or… is it because of the girl? Or maybe it's because of your comrades who fight at the base of this tower. She is already one of us. That will not change even if you extricate her from here."

Ichigo remembered what Grimmjow had said… and snapped.

"That isn't something for you to decide…. You… BASTARD!"

His Spiritual Pressure skyrocketed and he charged Ulquiorra, his blade burning black and red.

Their blades crossed again.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Ichigo dodged an incoming strike and grabbed Ulquiorra's arm, letting out a roar that borderlined on animalistic as he brought his blade down, slashing the Arrancar's torso with his Getsuga-enhanced blade.

Icihgo didn't let go of his arm however.

He pulled and threw him across the room again, then fired a full power Cero.

Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra when the smoke had cleared.

A cut had appeared on his chest.

'Blood.'

"I can read your movements now, Ulquiorra. Maybe it's because you've driven me to the point where I'm more hollow than human… or maybe it's the other way around."

"I've become more like you humans? I see. It seems that becoming able to keep up with this meager level feels rather good to you. "

The battle increased speed, Ichigo now struggling to block or dodge blows.

"STAND…STILL!"

Ichigo had completely lost it.

They'd taken his friend, twisted her arm somehow to make her follow them willingly, and then done god knows what to her mind.

Ichigo was absolutely livid, and his hollow power far outweighed his Soul Reaper powers at the moment, black and red Spirit Energy pouring out of him with every movement and strike.

Suddenly he lost track of the Arrancar, who swung…

…and had his blade blocked by a barrier.

Ulquiorra and Ichigo looked over to Orihime.

"What are you doing?" asked Ulquiorra.

"…Huh?"

"I'm asking you why you helped him."

"Why? That's because… "

"Because he is your friend? In that case, why didn't you protect him from the first attack? What made you hesitate?"

"Th…That's not…"

"Don't you understand? I'll enlighten you. You're-!"

His eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Ichigo was biting down on his shoulder, trying with all his might to shred the Hierro and devour his flesh.

"Shut up!"

"No matter how much you emulate a Hollow's behavior, you will never be a hollow."

"Fuck you…"

Ulquiorra hit the center of the mask and Ichigo stumbled back, the mask healing over quickly.

"Orihime… Thanks for helping me… But you should stay back. It's dangerous."

Ichigo charged a Getsuga into his blade again and swung, forcing Ulquiorra to block.

The two began fighting again, Ichigo's vocabulary devolving more and more into roars of anger and growls of frustration.

'Ichigo…'

Suddenly Orihime felt herself get grabbed and muffled from behind.

Ichigo felt two new Spiritual Pressures and turned.

He kicked Ulquiorra away and sonido'd to her side.

"You two must not like living very much."

The two had looks of sheer terror on their faces.

Ichigo grabbed the wrist of the black haired girl and squeezed, a loud _crunch _being heard by all soon after.

She screamed and released Orihime.

Ichigo looked to the other one and glared.

"I should kill both of you. But I'm going to give you one chance: Run. Run and never come back. If I see you again I will kill you both without mercy. RUN!"

The two panicked and ran off.

Ichigo looked down at Orihime.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

He felt Ulquiorra rushing him from behind and brought his blade to block.

"Back off. I'm making sure Orihime's okay. I"ll deal with you in a minute."

"I…I'm more worried about you…Ichigo… When I first saw you as a… hollow… I was scared… but then you told me it was okay, that you were still you, and I realized that you were right. But this… This isn't the Ichigo I… that I was friends with! I'm more scared of you than Ulquiorra right now!"

"W…What?!"

Ichigo slowly turned to face the Arrancar behind him.

His gaze said it all; he was going to kill the being before him.

Suddenly a larger being burst in.

"You…! You were the other guy…!"

"Ulquiorra! This kid looks like he's gotten stronger. Let me have a whack at him!"

"Your job is elsewhere, Yammy. Go deal with the Captain-Class intruders below."

"C'mon! I can kill the girl, right?"

Ichigo whipped his head around and narrowed his eyes at Yammy.

"Touch a hair on her head and I'll rip you limb from limb with my bare hands."

Suddenly through a hole in the wall nearby, a figure appeared with a glowing web in front of him.

Yammy stumbled forward.

"Who the hell are you?! Where'd you even come from?!"

"I shot that arrow with that much power and it didn't go through you? You're a tough one. But… Be careful of what comes next. "

Suddenly Yammy exploded.

"Because I outfitted that arrow with an Arrancar Landmine I got from a very shady scientist. "

The Arrancar was hanging onto the edge by his fingers.

Ichigo turned to Ulquiorra, fired the strongest Cero he could manage to get him away, sonidoed over to Yammy and glared down at him.

"Fall, Arrancar."

Ichigo swiftly cut off all his fingers. Each floor he fell through made a loud _crash _as his immense weight broke the floors.

"Ichigo… that was surprisingly ruthless," noted Uryuu.

"I don't have time to debate ethics with you Uryuu. Take care of Orihime. If my Spiritual Pressure gets too much for her shield, protect her with your body.

"I planned on that. You didn't need to say anything."

He vanished and reengaged Ulquiorra, pouring as much power and rage into his blade as he could… and cracking Ulquiorra's successfully.

The Arrancar back flipped away and was launched out the side of the building.

He charged a Cero… which Ichigo batted away with his blade.

Ulquiorra ran up the side of the pillar and Ichigo followed.

'How far is he gonna go?!"

Ulquiorra smashed through the roof and they were outside, the eternal moon above them.

"This is… Hueco Mundo… outside Los Noches."

"Correct. There are two things that are forbidden within the dome. The first is the Gran Rey Cero. The second is Espada Cuatro or higher releasing within the dome. Both could destroy Los Noches itself. Enclose, Murcielago."

Ichigo simply stared at the being in front of him.

He was going to kill him, or die trying.

"Do not look away. Do not break your stance. Stretch your awareness and do not let your guard down for a second."

He produced a green energy "Spear" and rushed Ichigo.

The two clashed several times, but Ichigo slowly started to lose his footing.

He took hits, and was not only running out of power, but he was physically exhausted as well from his brief fit of Hollow-power induced fit of unholy rage.

'Shit… I can't keep up… At this rate… he's gonna kill me…'

"Your power may have grown stronger for a time, but it seems as if that power is gone. Was it your rage that made you stronger? Or having to protect your ally? Are you at ease now that she is 'safe'? Regardless, this is your end. Such a pity."

Ulquiorra charged him and Ichigo blocked, being forced back several feet.

"Fire off a Getsuga. "

"Wha…?"

"If that is your strongest form and Getsuga is your strongest technique, then fire one at me right here, right now. I will show you the true difference in our power."

Ichigo shoved him back.

"Fire off a Getsuga? I was going to do that anyway."

Ichigo focused his power into his blade, refining it into a deadly, killer wave of complete and utter destruction.

"Getsuga…"

'Here goes everything.'

"TENSHOOOO!"

The attack went out… and was blown apart.

"I guess in the end, this is the level of a human."

"…You're… not hurt…?!"

"Your black Getsuga is very similar to Our Cero."

"What…?"

"You haven't seen it yet? This is the end. I will show you that which the Espada unleash in their released state."

He raised his finger and a black sphere formed in front of it.

"The black Cero… Cero Oscuras."

The blast flew out and engulfed Ichigo.

'Shit…'

Ichigo found himself falling.

Ulquiorra soon appeared next to him, following him down.

Ichigo was tossed aside.

"Do you understand now? No matter how similar your appearance and techniques may be to ours, their power is as far apart as heaven and Earth. When a Soul Reaper or human wishes to gain power, imitating hollows is an appropriate course of action. However, because they are imitating, humans will never be equal to hollows."

Ichigo forced himself to stand, missing most of his uniform.

"Getsuga…!"

"I TOLD YOU IT IS FUTILE!"

Ichigo was slashed.

He was tossed around some more before being held up over a ledge by Ulquiorra.

'Zan…Getsu?'

No response.

"Why won't you let go of your sword? You have witnessed the great difference in our power, yet you still think you can defeat me?"

"Difference…? So…What? You think I'm going to give up… cause you're stronger than me? I knew you were strong right from the start. AT this point no matter how much I see of your strength, it won't change anything. I'll.. find a way to beat you…"

Ulquiorra dropped Ichigo.

"What nonsense. Ichigo Kurosaki, your words are the words of one who does not know true despair. If you do not know, then I shall enlighten you. This is the true form of despair. Resureccion: Segunda Etapa. Among the Espada only I have enabled this second level of release. Even Lord Aizen does not know of it."

Ichigo struggled to rise.

"Even after witnessing this form you still have the will to fight? Very well. I shall make you understand, even if I have to grind your body into dust."

Ichigo was then completely at Ulquiorra's mercy.

"You are a fool, Ichigo Kurosaki. You challenge an opponent whose strength terrifies you and you think you can win. It is beyond my comprehension. If it is due to what you humans call a "heart" it is because of that heart that you suffer injuries, and it is because of that heart that you will lose your life. "

"I'm not fighting you because I think I can win… I'm fighting you because I _have _to win."

"What nonsense."

Ulquiorra grabbed Ichigo's neck with his tail and held him over a ledge.

Ichigo felt Orihime and Uryuu arrive below them.

"So you're here, girl." Ulquiorra noted. "Perfect. Pay close attention to the moment where the man you've entrusted your hopes to seals off his life."

"STOP!"

Ulquiorra put a hole in Ichigo's chest, larger than his hollow hole had been.

And with that… Ichigo fell to the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

_Splash_

Ichigo found himself surrounded by water, the buildings around him looking charred.

"What happened to this place…?"

**"When you went crazy back there your hatred and anger set this place on fire."**

"Why didn't you help me Zangetsu?! I thought you were-!"

**"This is what I was doing. I couldn't do anything until the fires were gone."**

"Ichigo. It does not matter what Ulquiorra might or might not have done to Orihime Inoue. What's done is done. You cannot allow yourself to be held up by it. She will recover, but she will only do so if you are there to help her. You saw how she felt about you; she was mortified at what you had become."

The white Zangetsu rubbed his hands together.

**"Now then! About killing Ulquiorra."**

"What? Aren't I…dead?"

**"Orihime's keepin ya alive. Barely."**

Ichigo vaguely heard her crying out his name over and over.

"I have to help her!"

**"And you will. Well, somethin' will. I figured it out partner. Give it one drivin' force and instead of just goin' berserk yer Bankai Hollowfication'll follow that ONE order. Results may vary, batteries not included."**

"PROTECT HER!"

The water began to evaporate into steam as Ichigo's power rose.

Zangetsu smirked and poured his Hollow power in as well.

**"This is gonna be good."**

* * *

_"Must… protect…."_

"Ichi…go?"

"How are you still alive? I recognize that form, but it seems… different somehow. Who are you?"

The being opened its hand, calling its blade back to it before bringing it down and sending up a wave of force so strong it destroyed the structure behind him.

Orihime was launched full force away, but Uryuu managed to catch her.

"Can you not hear me? I asked you a question."

**_"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"_**

"It would seem that words are lost on you."

Ulquiorra raised a finger and charged a Cero Oscuras.

The being opposite to him lowered its horns and charged a cero that burned more brightly than Ichigo's ever had before.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened as the blasts impacted… and his own was overpowered with relative ease.

Smoke and fire flew everywhere.

The two traded attacks again, the creature that had once been Ichigo once again winning out.

It then promptly severed Ulquiorra's left arm and hit him over the head with it.

**_"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"_**

Orihime looked on, terrified.

"Is that really…Ichigo?"

Ulquiorra staggered to his feet, stump bleeding.

He focused for a moment before a new limb sprouted from the stump.

"The greatest of my powers is not my offensive capability, but regeneration. Most Arrancar give up their ability to regenerate at high speeds in trade for immense power. I alone have kept that ability. I can regenerate anything other than my brain or my internal organs. I don't know what's happened to you, but no matter how strong you are it is not possible to defeat me by merely removing an arm and watching dumbstruck."

He pulled his hands apart from in front of his chest and created a weapon of energy.

"Lanza del Relampago."

The being simply stared at Ulquiorra.

"Don't come any closer. Stay right there. If possible I'd like to avoid firing this from up close"

He fired the attack… and it soared past the creature, exploding in the desert.

"I missed? It is difficult to control indeed."

Ulquiorra summoned another Lanza.

"He can fire off more than one of those things?!" exclaimed Uryuu.

The being that was Ichigo vanished…

…And reappeared behind Ulquiorra.

'Impossible! He slipped completely past my pesquisa… That wasn't like before. Before it was always at least some part Flash Step. That was pure Sonido.'

The being threw the severed arm at Ulquiorra, who incinerated it with his Lanza.

"Did you think you could unnerve me by throwing my own arm at me? Don't underestimate me."

Ulquiorra charged with his Lanza…

…And was in shock when the creature not only caught the attack with a bare hand but crushed it.

It then brought its blade down Ulquiorra's torso, wounding him severely and cutting off a horn.

"He beat him…!" exclaimed Uryuu.

"To think that I would be defeated by a hollowfied human… Impossible..."

The being put a foot on Ulquiorra's head and charged another large Cero.

"I see… no mercy… how very much like a hollow. I don't mind; I've lost to you. I no longer have any meaning. Do it."

There was a massive explosion.

When the dust cleared the being was gripping Ulquiorra's sole wing in his free hand.

All that was left of Ulquiorra was his torso, an arm, his head, and a wing.

It threw the decimated Espada a good distance away before approaching the corpse.

It brought its blade down, ready to carve up the body of its foe.

A hand was then gripping its arm.

"That's enough Ichigo. It's over. He's the enemy, but there's no need to carve up his corpse. So that's enough, Ichigo."

The creature tried to move its arm, but was held back.

"Can't you hear me Ichigo? I'm telling you to stop! If you do that, you won't be human anymore! ICHIGO!"

The creature moved to strike Uryuu… but stopped mid-swing.

'ENOUGH!'

The creature's free hand reached up, grabbed its horn, and tore it off with a roar.

The mask shattered and the white on Ichigo's body slowly dissolved and healed any wounds he might have previously had before reforming the "standard" mask on the side of Icihgo's head.

"Ha….ha…."

"Ichigo… what was that just now…?"

"I'm glad I could stop it before it hurt you, Uryuu. Let me-!"

Ichigo turned and blocked a strike from a regenerating Ulquiorra.

"Let's finish this."

"There's nothing to finish. I won."

"I'm not-!"

Ulqiuorra's wing began to turn to sand.

"This is bad. Kill me. Quickly; I no longer have the strength to walk. If you do not cut me down now, then this fight will remain forever unsettled."

"If that's you last wish. Reincarnate and become a good guy or something."

"Hurry."

Ichigo drew his blade.

"Here I was finally starting to take interest in all of you."

He looked to Orihime.

"Do I frighten you, girl?"

"No, you don't…"

He reached out and Orihime did the same before his hand dissolved away.

"I see."

Ichigo drove his blade through Ulquiorra's head, closing his eyes, and the rest of him vanished.

"…You were saying, Ichigo?" Uryuu continued hesitantly.

"What you just saw was my full power. Hollowfication in Bankai. There's a problem with it though, that you might have noticed; I can't properly control it. The only way to have any sort of control is to think of one very basic goal and hammer that into it. It'll keep going until it finishes that goal, no matter what, or until I managed to stop it, which wasn't easy at all. I told it to protect Orihime that time."

"That's absolutely terrifying, " said Uryuu.

Ichigo nodded.

"I get why Zangetsu didn't want me using it until now. It's scary… you're watching yourself do all these things and part of you enjoys it, revels in the primal brutality of it all. The blood, the gore, the pain, the killing, all of that feels really good, you want to savor it, to make it last as long as you can. I almost couldn't fight it. I almost hurt you, Uryuu."

Ichigo paused.

"Have I ever told you two about my 'Inner World'? It's a bunch of skyscrapers on their side that go on forever. If I'm sad, it rains. If I despair, it floods. If I become vengeful, it burns. I got wrapped up in my anger and thirst for vengeance against the Espada and Aizen. Zangetsu came up with a plan; hold back my power. Make me sad. Make me despair. It worked; my Inner World flooded and the fires were extinguished."

Ichigo looked up to Orihime with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry I scared you so bad Orihime. I was worried about you. That's all."

"I-it's okay…"

Ichigo turned to Uryuu.

"There's a fight going on down below. We should lend a hand once Orihime fixes your arm."

* * *

"…The hell is that?"

The Primera Espada stood with an army of wolves behind him, facing two Vizards.

Suddenly a figure appeared between them in a blur.

"I heard how you were talking back there."

Nel stood between the two groups, now wearing a green turtleneck undershirt with a sleeveless black jacket with white trim and very dark green shorts along with knee-high boots that matched the rest of her outfit.

"If you really feel that way then you should forget about Aizen. You don't have to keep fighting."

"Who're you? You're an Arrancar but you aren't dressed like one of us, and I'm sure Lord Aizen woulda found you if you'd been in Hueco Mundo."

"I wasn't in Hueco Mundo. I've been living here, peacefully, for almost two months now."

**"Stark! Are you really gonna listen to some stranger over me?!"**

"I didn't say that, so shut up. Let's at least hear her out. If she's an enemy it would be best to know about her, right?"

"I am Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, a vasto lorde class Arrancar. I've been living under the roof of a former Soul Reaper captain named Kisuke Urahara who graciously took me in when Ichigo brought me to this world. I was tired of all the violence and fighting in Hueco Mundo, so I decided to follow Ichigo's advice and remove my own mask. That's how I became an Arrancar, and how I wound up in Karakura Town."

She extended a hand to Starrk.

"Leave while you can. Don't die here needlessly. Don't throw your life away when there's more you could do. More you could be. Aizen may have given you strength, but you-!"

"Aizen didn't give me strength. I'm like you, a Natural Arrancar. Aizen is strong. That's why I'm loyal to him. But he's always making me to shit that's a pain in the ass and it looks like he's stopped giving a shit about us. So much for his 'dear Espada'. So then, you stronger than me? Stronger then Aizen?"

"No. But I know who is. Give me one moment."

She blurred away and went to Urahara.

"Can you contact Ichigo?"

"Maaaaybe. That depends; can you open a Gargantua?"

* * *

_"Ichigo, can you hear me?"_

"Nel?! Where are you?!"

_"I'm speaking to you with some sort of Kido. I need you here now."_

"I can't, I'm-!"

_"Please Ichigo! I want to save as many lives as I can, and if you don't come here another will be lost because of Aizen."_

"All you had to say was he was involved," Ichigo said.

A Gargantua tore open next to him.

Orihime had restored his power, so he was ready to go.

"Sorry you guys, I'm needed elsewhere. I think you all will be more than enough. Orihime, be careful."

Ichigo jumped into the portal and ran off.

* * *

Heads turned.

Everyone in the fight could feel the power that had just arrived on the scene.

"Kurosaki…" Hitsugaya murmured. "Why is he here?!"

Ichigo walked over to Nel who nearly crushed him with a hug, surprising him.

"N-nel! What did you need me for, who's in danger?"

She grabbed his wrist and they vanished into a blur of Sonido.

"Wah!"

The two reappeared in front of the Primera Espada.

"Ichigo is strong enough to defeat Aizen. If he can beat you in a fight, will you succeed from your position as the Primera Espada and abandon Aizen?"

"This kid? You sure about that? He's tough but…"

"I'm going to beat Aizen. He's done some things to a friend of mine that I'm not pleased with. He's going to try to sacrifice my town, my friends, my family, to make his King's Key or whatever. I don't have a choice; he has to lose."

Starrk scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"You sound like a kid alright. Fine. If this kid can beat me, I'll resign and go home and take a nap. If he can't…"

Starrk looked at Nel.

"You're next."

Ichigo stepped in front of her.

"Nel… you guys… step back. I'm going to use my full power. Sorry… you won't get much of a chance to fight back, so… tell me your name, Arrancar."

"Coyote Starrk, Primera Espada. What about you kid?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper."

"So you said something about using your full power?"

"Yeah. There's just one little problem with it."

"Oh? I don't think you're gonna tell me, are you? That'd be pretty dumb."

"I should warn you; it's how I killed Ulquiorra."

That got Starrk's attention.

"You killed Ulquiorra?"

"Easily. My true power is insane. I don't just mean that figuratively. When I use that power…"

Ichigo pulled his hand over his mask.

"…You'll be fighting a monster."

'Make him submit.'

Ichigo raked his hand over the mask and felt something erupt from his hollow hole.

A white substance slowly covered his body.

Fur sprouted from around his collar.

Claws formed on his fingertips and toes.

The mask changed shape and covered his head, horns sprouting and jutting forward, hair growing.

**_"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR"_**

Starrk sent his wolves to attack, but the beast simply swung its sword, unleashing a blood red Getsuga that forced all of them to explode.

"What…!?"

Suddenly the beast was on Starrk, who Sonido'd away and readied a Cero … and the creature lowered its horns, charging its own cero.

'Does he think he can beat me with just one cero?'

"Dumbass."

Starrk fired his attack… but was in shock as the massive Cero from the creature before him unleashed a cero easily ten times larger than his own and overpowered it.

"What is that cero?"

**_"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"_**

The beast grabbed Starrk's arm and readied his blade, but Starrk summoned more wolves and they jumped the creature, forcing it to back off before they all exploded.

However, the beast was unphased.

"What..?!"

The creature appeared behind Starrk in a blur and growled out one word:

**_"Submit…"_**

It brought its blade down, sending Starrk tumbling through the air and into a building.

**_"SUB...MIT!"_**

The beast charged a second Cero that obliterated the structure.

Starrk managed to avoid the strike and appeared on a structure nearby.

'He's stronger than I thought…. What a pain…'

He sensed a presence approaching him from behind… and then it stopped.

Shunsui had attempted to stab Starrk in the back, but the creature had stopped him.

It looked at him and growled.

It raised a blade but stopped before striking Starrk instead.

* * *

"That was close… I can't let it hit any of the others. That would be bad. I… Think I'm getting better at controlling this. I can give it orders mid-fight, but they've got to be simple, one-word orders…"

Ichigo watched the battle continue, Starrk getting worn down while the creature he- his spirit body- had become took very little if any damage.

Ichigo was waiting.

Waiting to break the mask and take control back.

He was learning about this new power.

'I'll get this under control…'

* * *

**_"SUBMIT!"_**

The creature ran Starrk through.

**_"SUB…MIT!"_**

"Okay! Okay! I….I… Submit… Just shut up already…"

Ichigo forced control of his arm and ripped off a horn.

He was thrust back in control of his body and pulled out the sword with a gasp.

"You… have no idea… how much that hurts," panted Ichigo.

"I…Probably do… kid…"

Starrk passed out and his Resureccion faded away, Lynette appearing beside him.

Ichigo tossed them both over his shoulders and passed them to Nel.

"Take em back to Urahara's shop for now. Need anything else?"

"Convince the other to surrender too."

"That's… a tall order. She's fighting Toshiro. He isn't fond of me."

She gave him a pleading look.

"Fine, I'll try!"

Ichigo saw two of what he assumed were Vizard due to their masks charge the Espada.

"ENOUGH!"

Ichigo grabbed a blade in one hand and blocked the other with his own.

"I'm going to ask you one time, Espada. Will you surrender now that the Primera has fallen?"

"Get outta the way carrot top!" yelled a short blonde.

"Do you want to try and make me?"

He flared his power and the two backed off.

"I asked you a question, Espada! Do you surrender or not?!"

Ichigo turned and pointed his blade at the dark skinned Arrancar.

"KUROSAKI!"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to Toshiro.

"Hitsugaya. What is it?"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm ending this."

"By letting them live?!"

"Something like that."

Ichigo felt something cold against his throat and vanished in a blur.

"So you've turned on us."

"When did I say that? I never said I was siding with them. A friend of mine asked me to let them live and end this without any more deaths, so that's what I'm going to do. I don't want to fight you, Captain Hitsugaya. I just want to end this without any more unneeded bloodshed."

"Do you think Aizen will share your sentiments?"

"Probably not. If there's one thing I've learned it's that the desire to kill, to destroy, to seek revenge, it's a poison. It will tear you apart and eventually you'll become the exact monster you hate. Trust me. I know. You need proof? Fine."

Ichigo dropped Tensa Zangetsu and it fell to the ground far below.

"I'm unarmed."

"You can still use Cero."

"Right…"

'Zangetsu?'

The spirit reluctantly pulled back Ichigo's hollow powers.

"There. Look at me; no mask, no sword. What will it take?! I'm not your enemy!"

"I surrender. On one condition."

Ichigo turned.

"What's that?"

"Allow me to retrieve my Fraccion. Let me leave to Hueco Mundo without a fight. Do not hunt me down."

"That seems fair enough. Don't attack Soul Reapers or humans and we have a deal."

"Very well."

"Kurosaki, you can't be serious!"

"I am. If she breaks her promise, I'll deal with her."

Toshiro lowered his blade.

"You had better."

"Let's deal with Aizen then."

Ichigo summoned his mask back and reached out a hand.

Zangetsu came flying back to him and he grabbed it.

Ichigo sensed Aizen move… at the Espada.

He vanished in a blur and shoved her out of the way, taking the strike himself, but grabbing Aizen's arm and holding tight.

"You bastard… You were going to kill her no matter what, weren't you?!"

"She was of no use to me. She isn't worthy of serving under me."

"You're disgusting," Ichigo said, spitting blood onto Aizen's face.

Aizen simply shoved his blade deeper into Icihgo's torso and flung him away.

Ichigo let out a roar and healed his wound before charging at Aizen again.

He watched as his blade penetrated Aizen's shoulder… before a blade pierced Ichigo's shoulder.

'Shit…!'

"You made me swing my blade twice, Ichigo Kurosaki. You were a fool to throw yourself in front of my attack. And for what? To save that speck that is your enemy?"

"Bastard… she… surrendered… She wasn't my enemy… but you are! Getsuga TENSHO!"

He gripped Aizen's blade and turned, firing a full power Getsuga.

However, when the smoke cleared… Aizen was unharmed.

"What…?!"

Aizen kicked Ichigo into a nearby building.

"Now then, shall we begin? Members of the Gotei 13… you botched Pseudo-Arrancar…"

* * *

A/N: Normally I loathe these, but this necessitates one. I've got a job now, I start 7/19/2014 (given this may be read at a later time by some), and I start school in August (referring to the time frame of this chapter, see the date above) so I'm going to be very busy. Therefore, I have planned ahead. Instead of releasing a bunch of rapid updates, I've got 3 finished chapters that I just need to proofread to complete and I'm currently working on chapter 14. That's why this update has taken so long, because I've been building up chapters so that I can produce updates even if I get busy with work. Depending on how many hours I'm working and what hours, I'll either produce one chapter a week or two, but I'll try to aim for as many as I can. I will do my best to produce at least one chapter a week, but if I can't then you know why. Expect chapter 11 sometime this Saturday and then chapter 12 sometime next week wash, rinse, repeat. TL;DR expect at minimum 1 chapter/week instead of the rapid fire updates I gave this story before.


	11. Desperation

Chapter 11

Desperation

'Shit… That really fucking hurt…'

Ichigo groaned.

He looked up… and saw one speck become two.

'Someone… got cut in half…!'

Ichigo forced himself to stand up and opened a Gargantua.

* * *

He grabbed Orihime's wrist.

"We're going. You're needed."

"Wha-! Wait, Ichigo!"

He pulled her over his shoulder and headed back in a blur.

* * *

"Where's Ichigo with that girl..?!"

"Here."

Ichigo set Orihime down.

"Get her legs. Orihime can handle the rest."

Ichigo looked at Orihime, who was mortified.

"Sorry you had to see this. These people are fighting Aizen too. It's only right we help them."

Ichigo healed his shoulder and slid his mask aside, wiping blood from his mouth.

"At this rate… I'm going to have to Hollowfy again. The problem is I don't know if I'll be able to break out of it if I need to now; I've burned a lot of power healing my wounds and the transformation itself eats up a lot of Spirit Energy too because it transforms me into a hollow, plus it's causing my Bankai to burn more power and put more stress on me, meaning that form instinctively heals the cracked bones or whatever comes of my Bankai's pressure on me."

Ichigo sighed and rubbed his temples before rubbing the bridge of his nose instead for a bit.

'This is more than I bargained for. I… I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I'm strong enough. Until I can fully hollowify in Bankai… I…"

**"Che. Whining again? Shut up Ichigo! What happened to that talk you were givin' back in Hueco Mundo? You had to win then, but ya don't have to win now? Bullshit! Get off your ass and get fighting. This is going t' take everythin' you've got partner, so you're gonna have t'give it your 100 percent! DON'T YOU DARE DIE NOW! GET MOVING!"**

Ichigo slowly stood up.

"Ichigo… where are you going?"

"I'm going to fight Aizen. I have to beat him."

"You'll get killed!"

"I won't die. I'm too stubborn for that, Orihime."

He felt her power surround him his wounds healing fully and rejuvenating.

"Orihime… Thanks."

When it had finished Ichigo felt at his best again.

Still, he knew Aizen was terrifying.

The others were fighting above, and it wasn't going well.

Even Shinji had entered the fight at this point, and was holding his own.

Ichigo stood, back to Orihime.

"Orihime."

"Y-Yes, Ichigo?"

She was currently healing the petite Vizard on the ground behind her.

"If you have anything you want to say to me, if you have anything that would regret having not said if I died, you should say it to me now. I can't promise I'll come back alive, but I promise that I'll win. I just don't want you to live with any regrets is all."

Ichigo turned slightly red under his mask as he felt her arms wrap around him from behind.

"Just a request…. D-Don't die… I'll tell you… what I have to say if you don't die."

"R-right. I guess… I can't die then. I can't let you live with regret, so I guess I can't die."

Ichigo nodded and she released him.

"Stay here. Be careful."

Ichigo vanished in a blur and reappeared next to Aizen and Shinji.

"Aizen…"

"Ichigo Kurosaki? It seems that I'm losing my touch."

"You know what Aizen? I'm sick of your 'better than you' bullshit. I'm about to knock you down a peg."

'I hope…'

"Is that so? What hope do you, an even larger mistake than these pseudo-Arrancar, hope to do against me?"

Ichigo felt a burst in power and looked to his left.

Tousen said something, but Ichigo couldn't tell what… then transformed into some sort of giant monstrosity.

'Is that… Resureccion? Then that means…'

Ichigo closed his eyes.

"Shinji! Keep him busy. I have a plan."

"Right. Got a score to settle with him anyway."

Ichigo vanished in a blur and found an isolated building.

He crossed his legs and entered Jinzen.

* * *

"Zangetsu."

**"Ichigo."**

"I think I found the problem with that hollowfication. It's not just a hollowfication; it's a Resureccion."

**"I… honestly never thought of that."**

Zangetsu laughed loudly.

"If it's a Resureccion… then you must know the command."

**"Nope. If you want t' learn it, y' have to accept that you are a hollow. Y' aren't a human with hollow powers. All the anger, the rage, the bloodlust… it's all you. Your instincts. I told you partner, it's something that's even more primal than I am. It's yer basic instincts that y'had before I was even around, partner. Feel it. You should be able to hear it now Ichigo… Hear its roar!"**

Ichigo stood up and nicked his finger with his blade.

"Split the moon and taste its blood, Zangetsu!"

Suddenly eyes turned as Ichigo was engulfed in a blaze of blood red energy.

When it faded Ichigo stood in his Hollowfied Bankai.

However, his formerly white jacket and blade were now black.

He vanished in a blur of Sonido and reappeared behind Aizen.

"Ready for round 2?"

Ichigo fired a blood red Getsuga at Aizen's neck.

A shield came up… but shattered.

However, Aizen survived with little more than a burned collar on his uniform.

"How did you…?!"

'This is bad..'

Ichigo could feel his power slowly draining away from him with each passing second.

It was as if someone left a faucet barely on; his power would "drip" every so often, dropping ever so slightly. Yes he had lots of it but his attacks and healing took up great amounts, which meant he wouldn't have much time to use this Resureccion.

He just… knew this. It was as if he'd become one with his instincts.

"I'll ask you Ryoka boy; to what end do you fight me? Do you have some kind of hatred for me?"

"Who knows? Maybe I just like to fight. Maybe I want to defend my town, my friends, my family."

"Disappointing. I thought more of you, Ichigo Kurosaki. That won't work. Without hatred in your blade it is like an eagle without wings. You can't protect anything with it. Your helpless friends serve as nothing more than weights to hold you back."

Suddenly the large canine captain appeared next to him.

"Do not let him get the best of you, Ichigo Kurosaki. Provocation is his specialty. Lose yourself and you will lose your life as well."

"Thanks… but I know that now. From personal experience. If I lose control in this form I won't be the only one who dies, but I don't think that'll be a problem anymore."

Ichigo looked to Aizen.

"I've seen his sword's Shikai, but there's one thing he didn't count on: This form. It's fueled by pure instinct. You can deceive someone who's consciously thinking about what he's fighting, but can you deceive base instinct? Something that doesn't think, but feels. Hypnosis is only effective if someone is suggestible enough, right? Even if his is strong, he can't make a suggestion to something that can't be reasoned with. That… is me. I need to go; I don't' have much time left using this form."

"Then allow all of us to help you."

"This isn't just your fight, it's ours too," said Shinji.

"Alright."

To Ichigo's surprise Hitsugaya was the first to charge in.

"Coming at me without a second thought. That's a daring move Captain."

"This'll never get underway if someone doesn't attack you. Making people miss their opportunities is another one of your tricks. I've gotta hand it to you though, for not using Kyouka Suigetsu on the first swing."

"I should be praising you"

He brought up a barrier to block a strike from Shunsui.

"For having the sagacity not to face me alone."

"You tryin' to say that this is unfair, Aizen?" asked Shunsui.

"If that's how it sounded, then I'll revise my statement, Captain Kyouraku…"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," started Komamaura. "I want to offer my gratitude. If you had not attacked Aizen at that instant, then I would have engaged him in an enraged state and most likely have been cut down. Thank you."

"Let's go."

SHnji and the Vizard went in next.

"You're welcome, Captain Komamaura."

"How long do you plan on standing there in a daze?" asked Soifon. "He'll only be vulnerable for a moment. You'll miss your chance if you keep standing around like that."

"Right."

"Don't be mistaken: we haven't come here prepared to die. We're fighting to live. All of that 'protecting the world' nonsense is nothing more than a grand cause with a nice ring to it. We're fighting so that we can live. So that you can live. And to protect everyone else from Aizen's grasp. Do not fall behind, Ichigo Kurosaki."

She vanished in a blur and her Lieutenant soon followed.

Toshiro stared down Aizen.

"You were saying before that a blade without hate is like an eagle without wings. That a blade swung out of a sense of duty won't work against you. I'll clue you in, since you don't seem to be aware: swinging a blade out of a sense of duty is what a Captain does. Swinging your blade out of hate is nothing more than base violence. Captains don't refer to that as fighting. I won't lie; when I saw what Kurosaki had become I became concerned about his loyalties. When he started trying to make peace with the enemy I was sure he'd turned on us. However, when I saw the way he fought you, I realized I was wrong. He fought with duty, not the blind hatred of a hollow that I thought he would fight with. Aizen… you really aren't worthy of being a Captain. A hollowfied human is more worth of that than you."

"How amusing. Those don't seem like the words of the person who, out of all the captains in the Gotei 13, despises me the most. Do you mean to tell me there is no hatred in the blade you stand ready to swing? Or did your grudge against me vanish the moment Hinamori recovered and showed up here?"

Shunsui struck out at Aizen, who dodged.

"How rude of you. I was in the middle of talking, Captain Kyouraku."

"I guess I'm not a very good listener when my opponent is male. I get bored just listening."

Toshiro unleashed his Bankai.

"You're exactly right, Aizen. My blade is full of hate. I didn't come here to fight you. I came here to violently hack you to pieces! 'If your blade is full of hate, then you aren't worthy of being a captain either.' That's what you wanted to say, right? That's right. I don't care if this fight costs my position as a captain if it means being able to kill you. I'm gonna smash you with everything I've got and I won't give you a chance to use Kyouka Suigetsu. Ready yourself Aizen. Or don't. Either way, I won't show you any mercy!"

Suddenly several combatants entered the fight at once.

However… Aizen shattered their attacks with ease.

"Perhaps we differ in our basic understandings of the word "power". I shall enlighten you; this is what is known as 'power'."

Komomura went down.

Then two Vizard.

Then another.

However, between Hitsugaya, Shunsui and Toshiro Aizen got backed into a corner.

Or so it seemed to them.

Ichigo vanished in a blur and stopped the blade Hitsugaya intended to run "Aizen" through with.

"Kurosaki…?!"

"You don't want to do that."

"What is the meaning of this?! Was I wrong?!"

"That isn't Aizen."

Ichigo raised an arm and charged a Cero, aiming it some distance away.

"You must trust me completely Captain Hitsugaya. Can you do that for this one instant?"

"Just this one instant."

Ichigo fired a cero.

Suddenly what had been "Aizen" was revealed to be Hinamori.

"Impressive Ichigo. You were able to see through my illusion. The question is… can you do it twice?"

"Kurosaki…" Hitsugaya started.

"Don't worry about it. It's my turn to fight now."

Hitsugaya roared and charged Aizen.

"Wait!"

"This is the end for all of you."

The three captains and Shinji were cut down.

Ichigo blocked a strike intended for him at the last second.

"Again you impress, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo grabbed his arm.

"I know this is the real you. Die."

Ichigo charged a massive cero between his horns.

"Cero Gigante."

There was a gigantic red explosion, the crimson lighting up the sky above the Fake Karakura Town.

"I'll admit: I felt that one."

Aizen's left sleeve had been burnt off and there were a couple of scorch marks on his arm, but no major damage.

"What are you..?!"

Suddenly a pillar of fire erupted nearby.

"Oh? The Captain-Commander graces us with his presence at last? But it's too late. You're the last of the captains that account for your offensive capabilities. If you fall then the Gotei 13 will literally collapse in on itself. You missed your opportunity; don't you think you should have come forth sooner?"

"Don't get arrogant with me, little boy. Do you think that with your level of power you can cut me down?"

"I think nothing of the sort, for I have already done so."

Ichigo sonido'd over to the Captain-Commander.

"I'd like to say I'm sorry for that outburst before. And for destroying the execution grounds."

"Apology accepted; I expected you would react as you did to my statements about the girl, however. As you were likely told, it was all part of my plan."

Ichigo smirked under his mask.

"Here we are Hollow and Soul reaper, about to take on the greatest evil ever known. This is a historic moment in Soul Society's history. I'm honored to be part of it," Ichigo said.

"No more talk, Kurosaki Ichigo. Stand aside and allow me to show this child that his arrogance is misplaced!"

Aizen ran the Captain-Commander through, but he grabbed his opponent's arm

"I've got you, Sousuke Aizen."

"How amusing. And what are you going to do now that you've got me? Are you sure that the arm you've grabbed is really even my arm?"

"That would be an issue if I were merely using my eyes to see or my skin to feel, but it is impossible for me to misread the Spiritual Energy of the blade in my stomach. You said before that I missed my opportunity. But it's just the opposite; my opportunity has just come to fruition."

Pillars of fire erupted around the city.

"Ennetsu Jigoku. Everything that has transpired in this fight thus far has gone into creating the chance to use this ability."

"You used the occasion of your subordinates being hacked down to set this up? How cunning of you."

"I don't want to hear about 'cunning' from you."

He paused.

"Kurosaki Ichigo! Get out of this place."

"What are you going to do…?"

"Aizen and I shall die here in this burning hell. You are not a member of the Gotei 13. As such, I cannot involve you in this any more than I have."

"Captain…Commander…"

"What about the other squad members?" asked Aizen. "As it stands they will all be caught up in this Ennetsu Jigoku of yours."

"They are prepared for that. Dying to exterminate great evil… Know that THIS is the spirit of the Gotei 13."

Suddenly a large figure appeared behind Yamamoto.

'A released Arrancar…!?'

Yamamoto went to strike, but it was blocked.

Suddenly some of the flames vanished.

"Shall I enlighten you? Your Ryuujin Jakka is the most powerful Zanpakto. That goes without question. If we were to fight directly, its combat ability may even exceed that of my own. However, if one were to abandon all other abilities and specialize in only one thing, then they would be able to oppose its incredible power. He, Wonderweiss, is the only 'modified' Arrancar and the name of his Resureccion is Extinguir. He was created for the sole purpose of suppressing your Ryuujin Jakka. Farewell Yama-!"

Wonderweiss screamed.

Ichigo had bitten a chunk out of his shoulder.

"Captain Commander… I'll handle this guy. You take care of Aizen. Besides… It's been a while since I've eaten a hollow. I'm not questioning your power, Captain-Commander, but Aizen is strong. If he beats you, well… This might give me the power I need to stop him in your stead."

Aizen narrowed his eyes before having to combat the Captain-Commander.

Ichigo roared and charged Wonderweiss, taking another bite out of him and cutting off an arm.

Ichigo charged a cero between his horns and blew away the middle of the Arrancar's torso.

It let out a strange noise.

"It's over."

Ichigo charged a huge Cero and fired it, obliterating the Arrancar entirely.

Suddenly a pillar of energy erupted from the ground and something shot out of it.

Ichigo felt it; it was Aizen.

He sped over and raised his blade.

"Surprise. Getsuga TENSHO!"

Not only did it strike Aizen, but split a large building down the middle.

Aizen bled for the first time by Ichigo's blade.

"Just a cut huh? You are pretty tough."

Ichigo vanished and reappeared, grabbing Aizen's shoulders and shoving their foreheads together.

"Let's see you live with your head blown off."

Ichigo charged a Cero Gigante in between his horns, watching as it engulfed Aizen's head before firing it and releasing Aizen.

Suddenly Ichigo had to whirl around and block a strike from Aizen.

"What?!"

"You failed to kill me, Ichigo Kurosaki."

His face was burned and his hair singed, but other than that Aizen was fine.

"That… was your last chance."

"I wounded you. That's pretty good I think, all things considered."

"Wounded me? You call this a wound?"

His wounds healed up quickly.

"High speed regeneration?!"

"It is not high speed regeneration. Do you think that I would undergo a mere hollowfication?"

Ichigo broke away.

'Shit… I don't have much more time left in this form… I've done everything I could, thrown my best at him and he just… undoes it!'

'This… is the protective instinct of a servant towards its master."

"What're you talking about?"

He opened his jacket… to reveal the Hogyoku embedded in his chest.

"That's…!"

"The Hogyoku."

He pulled some blood from the wound onto his hands.

"So this is your Spiritual Pressure? Excellent It's quite well developed, just as I planned."

"What?!"

"All your battles thus far have played out in the palm of my hand. "

"What are you on about…?"

No reply.

"I ASKED YOU JUST WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE ON ABOUT!"

Ichigo's mask cracked… and shattered.

It then reformed into his "standard mask"

'Crap.'

"It seems that you can no longer hold that form. What a pity. Regardless… you shouldn't raise your voice like that. There's nothing to really be that surprised about, is there? I simply believed that you would be the best subject for my research, and as such assisted you in your development. That is all that I'm saying. Didn't you find any of it strange? The fact that in all your life you had never so much as seen a hollow. And then you encountered Rukia Kuchiki and are immediately attacked by one, or the fact that the bait the Quincy used in the extermination of rank-and-file hollows caused a Menos Grande to appear? Or the fact that around the time you started becoming accustomed to fighting as a soul reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, whose Spiritual Pressure wasn't even locatable was conveniently discovered and reported to Soul Society? All the enemies you fought when you did was at a point when your power was in a condition to do so. Did you not once find any of it to be strange? Did you think your encounters were fate?"

"Hold it."

"Did you think those attacks were mere coincidences?"

"Hang on."

"Did you think that your victories were a result of your efforts?"

Ichigo vanished and reappeared next to Aizen, grabbing his throat.

"I said hold on. Shut up and stop talking, it's annoying."

"Your power isn't anywhere near enough to stop me. You were close when you used that Hollowfication, but even that should be far stronger. Do you not believe what I'm saying?"

'Could he be right?'

**"He has some good points; all those fights… they ****_were _****quite convenient, partner. Humor him. See what else you can learn."**

"Zangetsu says it makes sense, so I guess I'll play along for now. So what if this was all some grand scheme you concocted? What does that change? Just because you made me what I am doesn't mean that I'm going to roll over and give up. You think that you're going to demoralize me, break me, by playing these mind games? You're wrong. Dead wrong."

Ichigo brought his blade down… and had it stopped by Aizen's hand.

"What the hell…?!"

"In this world, there is originally no such thing as the 'truth' or a 'lie'. There are only cold hard facts. Regardless, everything that exists in this world lives by mistakenly recognizing only the 'facts' that are convenient for them as 'the truth'. This is because they possess no other way to live. However… For the powerless, who comprise the majority in this world, it is the fact that are inconvenient to their self-affirmation that they are the entirety of the truth. Do you know all the facts? Do you think that I was really unable to ascertain the location of the Hogyoku in the more than 100 years since its completion?"

"I've got something I want to ask you Aizen. I humored you, will you humor me?"

This surprised Aizen.

"I believe that's fair."

"You said before that you believed I'd be the best subject for your research. What did you base that belief on? If you've been watching since I met Rukia, when did you start believing that?"

"From the very start."

"What do you mean by that exactly?"

"Do you not understand? I said 'from the very start'. I have been aware of you since your birth."

"…What?!"

"Since the moment of your birth you have been special. Because you are the offspring of a Soul Reaper and a-!"

A figure in black appeared between Aizen and Ichigo.

"You talk too much, Aizen."

"Dad..?"

Isshin turned… and headbutted Ichigo.

"AH!"

He grabbed into the edge of the building.

"I almost fell…"

His father proceeded to kick him off of the edge.

"Bastaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard!"

Ichigo crashed onto the ground.

"Ow…"

Suddenly he found a hand over his face.

"Shut up Ichigo! I know you're wondering why I'm-!"

Ichigo kicked his father in the face.

"I know I have to be quiet! I was telling you I couldn't breathe!"

"O-oh. Sorry."

"Thanks for hitting me dad. It feels like everything is back to normal again."

"Ichigo…" Isshin's expression changed quickly. "But I didn't hit you. It was a headbutt."

"Does that really matter? You just ruined a nice moment."

Ichigo sighed.

"Dad… I can't take Aizen right now. I've burned up all my power with my Resureccion… Hollowfication… whatever you want to call it. That's the only chance I have against him. Even then, he's got the Hogyoku."

"Alright then."

Isshin reached into his robes and pulled out a small glass bottle full of a blue-green liquid.

"What's that?"

"It's a medicine. I figured that you'd burn yourself out like this, so I brought it for you. It won't fully restore your spirit energy, but it'll give you enough to fight Gin."

"Wait… that means you're going to…!"

"Yeah. I'll fight Aizen this time Ichigo. Don't worry; I'll be fine."

"…Alright. I trust you. Be careful old man."

"You too, Ichigo."

Ichigo burst away, flying up behind Gin before bringing his blade down.

The fox-faced ex-captain blocked the strike, but the building was split in half from the force of the strike.

The two landed in the rubble.

"It's been a while since you an' me fought," Gin commented.

"It has."

"D'ya remember what happened last time we fought? You came at me in one helluva fury when I cut off Jidanbou's arm. And I remember thinkin' to myself 'What an interestin' kid'."

"I don't remember."

"That ain't nothin' but a lie; you tryin' to provoke me?"

"You got it wrong. It's not that I don't remember your sword, I just don't remember your heart. Whenever I cross swords with someone, I learn a little bit about what they're thinking. I'm not saying I can read minds or anything but I do learn what kind of determination they're swinging their sword with, or if they look down on me, or if they respect me, that stuff. Usually I don't realize it until after the fight's over because of how hectic it gets, but the stronger the opponent, the more they convey their heart to you."

"Well aren't you just a regular poet?"

"I'd say Zangetsu's more of a wordsmith than I am. What I'm getting at is, you didn't have any of that. You didn't so much as look at me back then, despite the fact we were fighting, but I can't tell exactly what it was you were looking at."

"Well… I thought you were an interestin' kid, but it turns out you're just creepy."

"Ouch. Still, that's quite the accusation, pot."

"I think I understand pretty well now why Captain Aizen has taken an interest in ya."

Ichigo brought his blade up to defend.

"My Shinsou… do you know how far it extends?"

"I don't care, but I assume you're gonna tell me anyway, right?"

"About 100 swords long. That's why they called it a 'Hyapponzashi' when I was a kid."

"Uh huh. Gonna tell me your whole life's story while you're at it? It's not like I'm here to fight you or anything."

"D'ya know how far its Bankai extends?"

"I'm not here to play 20 questions, Gin."

"Aww, yer no fun."

"Now you just sound like Yoruichi."

"Oh well… I'll tell you in the terms you humans use so that you can understand it easy: 13 Kilometers."

'Holy shit…'

"Even if ya hear th' number ya still don't really get a sense right? I'll show ya. Here we go. Bankai; Kamishini No Yari."

Ichigo watched as several buildings fell in the distance, bisected.

Ichigo then saw it coming for him and blocked.

Gin had a look of surprise on his face.

"What're you so surprised about? There's no way a Bankai couldn't block another Bankai."

Ichigo ground the blade of his sword against his foe's until he was close and then swung it, knocking the larger blade away and firing a Getsuga.

"Well…" Gin's head was bleeding. "You really are a creepy kid. You're pretty scary. Seems like if I don't take care of you here real soon, this could turn into a real mess."

Ichigo noticed the sword was now short again.

'When did it retract?! Did something distract me and cause me to miss it? No… Shit. Shit, shit, shit! It's just that fast!'

"S'pose I'm in a bit of a predicament, ain't I? You went and stopped my Bankai so easily, so I guess I ain't got no choice but to fight the ol' fashioned way."

Ichigo quickly guarded against several fast strikes.

'Shit… even if I wanted to use my Resureccion I couldn't; if I drop my guard for a second he'll slice me up, so I can't prick my finger!'

"That's quite a sword you've got there. I'm the one attackin', and yet it feels like my sword's gonna break!"

"Thanks, go ahead and let it break then!"

'If he points the tip of his sword at me then I'm done for; he's still using its Bankai!'

Suddenly Gin jumped back.

Ichigo knew what was coming and quickly pricked his finger.

"Split the moon and drink its blood, Zangetsu!"

He hollowfied and just barely managed to avoid his shoulder being impaled.

He still was cut, but he'd avoided a much worse injury.

Ichigo blurred into bursts of Sonido and rushed Gin, shoving his blade away and forcing him to back off.

"It's like I was thinking; the most terrifying of your Bankai's power isn't its length or destructive force, it's how fast it extends and contracts. I've been thinking, it was pointless for you to tell me about its length. It would've been more advantageous for you to keep quiet, and it was pointless for you to swing your sword around and cut the town in half. It would have been more advantageous for you just to slash me. The reason you went through all that was to get me to miss the extensions and contractions. Am I wrong?"

"Well I'll be… No point in hidin' it now that the secret's out. I'll tell you how fast Kamishini No Yari extends."

Gin clapped his hands quickly.

"Catch that? Its speed is 500 times that. Kamishini No Yari isn't the longest Zanpakto, it's the fastest. But even though ya know that you still don't have a chance in hell."

"I think you're wrong. You're the one at the disadvantage. Y'know… I didn't want to have to use my Resureccion to fight you, but it looks like I don't have a choice; if I don't you'll skewer me. I'm going to warn you now; my speed in this form is roughly 5 times that of my Bankai's maximum speed. So then, let's see who's faster."

Ichigo moved as fast as he could, creating afterimages of himself.

"Which one is the real me, Gin? Are you gonna take a wild guess? Try to hit all of them quickly? Stab until you get a hit? Swing your blade all around?"

Suddenly Gin shot out his blade, right at Ichigo.

'Shit, he found me!'

Ichigo deftly sidestepped the strike and grabbed the back of the blade.

As it came back Ichigo came back with it.

"Oh dear."

"Getsuga Tensho."

Ichigo let loose the attack at point blank range, engulfing both of them in a crimson explosion.

The two erupted through a building and right next to Aizen and Isshin.

"Ichigo… I…"

"What? You're getting on my nerves! I've got this under control, so stay out of my way, alright?"

"Sorry Captain Aizen, did I interrupt a conversation?" asked Gin.

"It's fine. We were just finishing up."

A white substance erupted from the Hogyoku.

"Dad, what the hell is that? What's going on?!"

"The hell if I know! I was just thinking that none of this makes sense and then you came flying in so I haven't made any progress!"

"You've been- You know what, screw it!"

Ichigo turned and lowered his horns.

"CERO GIGANTE!"

The blast was bigger than before, and launched right at Aizen.

"Did I get him?"

"I must say… The Hogyoku is aptly named indeed! This is undoubtedly the power to utterly obliterate the boundary between the ever-separate planes of the divine and the mortal!"

Aizen was unharmed.

Suddenly a beam of light penetrated his chest.

Everyone looked up in the direction it had come from.

"So you came, Kisuke Urahara."

"it's been a long time, Aizen. That's a rather curious outfit. "

"Everything is ugly when it's at the midway point in its evolution," Aizen replied.

"No one said anything about it being ugly. I see you've fused with the Hogyoku."

"It's not 'fusion'. Let us say that I 'subjugated' it. I subjugated the Hogyoku that you were unable to gain total control over. "

"I was unable to gain control over it. That was indeed the case, back in those days anyway."

"Back in those days? You very obviously are unable to admit defeat. No, it doesn't matter whether or not you're able to admit defeat; for you…"

Aizen ran Urahara through…

"...have already forever lost the chance to command the Hogyoku."

"Urahara" exploded with a _ pop_.

The real Urahara appeared behind him.

"Rikujou Kourou."

Rods of light impacted Aizen's torso.

"Now that I think about it, there was a device like that in Yammy's battle records," noted Aizen. "I didn't think you'd use such a petty trick at this stage and let my guard down. So, what do you plan to do now that you've bound me with this meager Bakudo?"

"Meager Bakudo? How much will it take before it's not meager anymore? Bakudo 63, Sajo Sabaku!"

A band of energy wrapped around Aizen.

"Bakudo 79, Kuyou Shibari!"

The attacks hit Aizen.

"From thousand-armed Kanon's shores, where the hand of darkness does not reach and the archer of heaven goes unreflected, look upon my wandering finger which brings together the illuminating path and the kindling wing! Shot of light, eight bodies, nine cords, heaven's sutra, stricken jewel, great wheel, ashen torrent! He who draws the bow vanish in a blinding light!"

"Do you think I'm going to let you use a Kido like that? As if something like this c-!"

"Too slow. Hado 91, Senju Koten Taiho!"

Aizen was bombarded with blasts.

"Wow…"

"Aizen.. It seems that taking in the Hogyoku has caused you to let your guard down."

"That is exactly right," said Aizen from behind Urahara, his appearance changed significantly.

"Too slow."

One wave of his hand and Urahara was bleeding.

"I let my guard down, for there is no longer any need to be on guard. I can feel it; my body has subjugated the Hogyoku, and now the entirety of my abilities, which were once unsurpassed in all of Soul Society are beginning to climb to greater heights. Even 90th level Kidos no longer merit being avoided!"

"You've misunderstood. When I said that you let your guard down, I wasn't referring to your not avoiding Kido. In the past, you never wouldn't come into physical contact with me twice without any kind of plan."

Suddenly Aizen's hands had glowing circles around them.

"What are these?!"

"They're a seal. I've blocked off the Spiritual Energy vents which are located in the wrists of all Soul Reapers," Urahara explained. "You will be incinerated from the inside out by your own power."

Azien exploded.

"Urahara…"

The ex-captain landed near Ichigo and Isshin.

"It's not over yet," he explained. "It'd be lovely if something like that was the end of this since that would mean he was just an ordinary monster. He will emerge shortly."

Ichigo snapped off his horn and reverted to his normal Bankai….

…Just as Aizen reappeared in a strange new form.

"What the hell is that?!"

Aizen appeared between Urahara and the Kurosakis.

"Tempting me to attack by using a 90th level Kido as a decoy… then burning me from the inside out with a technique you developed yourself… If it were anyone other than myself- no, anyone other than myself after having subjugated the Hogyoku, then this battle would have most likely been over. Unfortunately however…"

The cracked his wrist and pulled out a wring.

"The Hogyoku you've created exceeds your comprehension. This technique which you most likely developed in preparation for the battle with me will not have any effect."

Urahara silently drew his blade.

"If skill fails then use force? Very well."

Isshin and Urahara entered combat before Yoruichi appeared from above and slammed her fist, covered in armor, into Aizen. She unleashed a flurry of punches, so strong they tore up the area around them.

"Well? I thought you'd at least-"

"YORUICHI! GET AWAY!"

She jumped and slid away, losing a part of leg armor.

"What's the matter? You're not done already are you? Quickly, reveal your next trick. I will grind each of them into dust until the very last one has gone to waste."

Ichigo growled and charged, nicking his finger and hollowifying as he did so, biting into Aizen's shoulder.

"Oh? I'd nearly forgotten about you; your power is so lacking compared to these opponents I hardly noticed you."

'Well… it was a good effort.'

"So you didn't undergo a hollowfication. You look sorta like a hollow, so I figured 'hey, it's worth a try to eat him.' Guess I was wrong."

Ichigo vanished in a blur, appearing next to his father.

"Getting desperate?"

"Something like that."

Aizen turned back to Urahara.

"The number of methods you have crafted in order to defeat me is a testament to your power and effort. It is also the number of hopes you have. And as such, it is my duty to crush each and every one of them. So reveal your next trick, Urahara Kisuke. Shihoin Yoruichi. And Kurosaki Isshin."

"Oooh dear," said Urahara with a grin. "We're in a bind now… That was specially made armor designed to be used against Hierro. I never thought it would break so easily."

"Hum? What was that?" said Yoruichi in an annoyed tone. "You make it sound like it's my fault."

"Oh no, tha wasn't what I meant after all," he said, covering his face with his fan partially.

"Oh yes it was, what you want to say is that it broke because I wasn't paying attention right? Hmm? Listen here, your product was half-assed to begin with! The root cause for it breaking was the fact you didn't pay enough attention during the production stage!"

"Okay, okay I get it!"

"I see," said Aizen. "The fact that your leg is intact would suggest that it is something special indeed."

"You mean my leg, right?"

She held up a leg, earning a look from Urahara.

"What was that look for?"

She punched Urahara in the face.

"Ow my nose!"

"Enough with the ranting," declared Aizen. "It's pointless to argue about what's special. If one of those disappears with each swing, then if I swing my sword three more times, your special items will vanish."

He began walking over to Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Here he comes."

"I know that."

"Can you do it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? It's just a matter of striking him with anything other than my left leg."

Aizen and Yoruichi clashed.

Ichigo watched somewhat dumbstruck at just how much power the two had.

X

A/N: Shameless plug, if you check out my profile you can get the link to the DeviantArt I made for my page. I've uploaded a sketch of Ichigo's first form from this story, so you can check that out if you want. Or not, up to you.


	12. Power Comes With a Price

Chapter 12

Power Comes with a Price

Ichigo watched somewhat dumbstruck at just how much power the two had.

"Is that a good idea?"

Gin was behind him.

"I got you flanked."

Ichigo turned and readied his sword.

"I'm just kiddin' around." Gin sat down on some rubble. "How bout' we take a break?"

"What?"

"It won't hurt nothin'. Let's watch."

Ichigo warily sat down next to him, blade tightly gripping his sword, before breaking his horn again.

One thing he'd noticed is that every time he broke his horn he got a little bit of a power boost. Some of the energy he'd lost came back to him, but the amount was usually negligible.

"Y'know it's useless now. I've been with Aizen for a long time an' this is the first time I've seen somethin' like this. Well, I suppose that's a given since he went and absorbed the Hogyoku while we weren't payin' attention. You get it right? There ain't nothin' more to be done. You and all them folks are gonna get killed and that'll be all she wrote."

Ichigo let out a chuckle.

"You should know by now I'm not going to let that happen."

"How nice. I thought you'd say that."

"With Aizen in that state, how can you be sure about what's gonna happen to _you_?"

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to say that. When you say it like that, it makes it sound like you're resigning yourself to the fact that you're gonna die! Could it be that some part of you has already given up on this fight?"

"Not exactly," Ichigo replied, stabbing his blade into the ground and intertwining his fingers while resting his elbows on his legs. "I'm just ready to do whatever it takes to stop Aizen. And if that means I have to die to take him with me then so be it, but I'm going to win. I decided that long ago."

"Now that is interestin'. I thought you'd just be some fragile kid. Seems like yer' a bit tougher than I thought. Still if ya don't think ya can survive, I think I'd better deal with ya so Aizen don't have to."

He brought his blade to his chest and Ichigo drew his own.

"Kamishini no Yari, Buto!"

Ichigo barely dodged.

"Kamishino no Yari: Buto Renjin."

Ichigo's eyes widened as he moved as fast as he could, avoiding the blades.

'Shit that's fast.'

Eventually Ichigo took a strike to the leg.

'Crap!'

He stumbled to one knee.

"Were you always this weak? You were much more frightenin' back then. Good god. Go on, git."

"It isn't over yet. Why are you telling me to get out of here?"

Ichigo healed the wound on his leg.

"I don't have the power to do this more than once right now, so I'm going to let you know, this will be the end, Gin."

Ichigo pricked his finger.

"Split the moon and drink its blood, Zangetsu."

Ichigo hollowfied and was on Gin in a second.

"Well… Shit…"

Ichigo threw him back before chasing after.

The blades seemed to move in slow motion to him now, whether it was power or adrenaline Ichigo couldn't tell, but he deftly avoided the strikes before charging a Getsuga and a Cero at the same time and tackling Gin before pinning him to the ground with his foot.

"Let's see you give me that cheeky grin now."

Ichigo fired off both attacks in a swirl of red and black.

He stood with a foot on Gin's chest before looking away.

"What the hell? Urahara… Yoruichi… Dad…?! Their spiritual pressures just…"

"You still haven't beat me, kid. Do you think you can really beat Aizen after he took out those three?"

"I already told you, I'm going to win, no matter the cost, so quit yapping."

"Get outta here. I've lost interest in ya; you keep throin' the same attacks and ya don't even have that much power left. Azien'll probably be disappointed with you as well. He's pretty frightenin, ain't he? You've got a good idea about his power, right?"

Ichigo turned and walked off a bit.

"Yeah. To both questions. But being frightened and allowing it to affect you in battle are two different things. Yeah, I'm scared of him. I won't lie. But I can't let that fear control me. Fear will make me weak. It'll get me killed. This is what I was taught and how I will live."

Suddenly Aizen appeared in front of him.

"Aizen."

Aizen walked past Ichigo.

"Gin, open a Senkaimon. We are going to raid the Karakura Town in Soul Society. There's no need to destroy the pillars; if we're going to take the royal palace, then it will be much more convenient to create the King's Key in Soul Society."

"Yessir!"

'Hang on… Yeah… that could work! If I destroy those pillars when he leaves it'll bring the real thing to earth and maybe we can find a way to keep him in Soul… That's right, there's nobody to plan with, and I doubt they'd listen to me anyway. Guess the only way to win is to stop him.'

Suddenly Aizen's 'armor' began to shatter.

"Aizen…?"

"Yes. The chrysalis period has ended. How fortuitous."

The mask shattered, revealing a more "normal" looking head.

"Now I can watch the demise of Soul Society with my own eyes."

He looked to Ichigo.

"I will leave you here. Devouring you can wait until after all is said and done."

Once Aizen had left Ichigo's mask shattered and reformed, dehollowifying him.

"The hell…?"

"Ichigo! What're you just standing there for?"

Ichigo looked back at his father.

"Open a Senkaimon!"

"Uh… I've never done that."

"Huh. Well come on. We're gonna go protect Karakura."

"Did you feel him? There's no way we can stop someone that strong with just the two of us!"

"…I see. So you can feel his Spiritual Pressure."

"Eh?"

"Let's get going."

"W-what?"

"Think carefully about what Aizen heading to Karakura Town in Soul Society means. It means that all the people there, both the ones you want to protect and all the others are gonna fall into Aizen's hands and die. "

"You're right. Open up one of those gates."

"You don't have to tell me."

* * *

The two were high tailing it through the tunnel when suddenly Isshin stopped.

"Wait!"

"Wha? We're kind of in a hurry, right?"

"I don't sense the Cleaner at all…"

"Wait… Yeah you're right. You think it's just not here? Yoruichi said it worked on a Schedule."

"It'd still be sensible here. Normally a Soul Reaper can't make a dent in it, but judging from the traces of Spirit Energy it seems Aizen's done something to it."

"Is it bad if it goes away?"

"If you leave it like that. But right now it's a blessing."

"Huh?"

"Just as the name implies the Precipice World is a place where time and space are cut off from both the human world and Soul Society. Thus the Cleaner exists to prevent anyone from staying here for a long period of time. But now it's gone, and I can teach you the Final Getsuga Tensho."

"What's that?"

"Ask your sword. I'm going to use these to keep the Cleaner from coming back. The short version of all this is that you'll have 2000 hours to train. A little less than three months in the real world and Soul Society. During that time get information from Zangetsu about the true nature of the Final Getsuga Tensho."

"Alright. Good luck dad."

"I should be saying that to you."

Isshin attached the ropes to the walls of the Precipice world and Ichigo initiated Jinzen.

**"Hey there partner."**

"Zangetsu-!"

Ichigo brought up his blade to guard.

"What the hell?! I came here to-!"

**"I know why you're here partner. The answer is no."**

"What?! Why?!"

**"I don't have to answer that. If you want answers this time, you're gonna have to beat em out of me!"**

"Why?!"

**"'Why, why, why'? Is that all you can say, partner? Look at you! In your latest fights you've been relying on your Hollow powers and your Resureccion more than your Soul Reaper powers! It's just like Rukia said! Yer scared of yer humanity durin' a fight! Ya see it as a weakness!"**

"And maybe it is! Don't you want me to be strong?!"

**"Idiot! You aren't just a hollow! You're a Soul Reaper too! It's time to rip that fear right out of you!"**

Zangetsu reached a clawed hand forward and dug into Ichigo's chest, pulling something black and covered in blood out.

When it hit the ground it formed into a black hooded being.

"Who… is that?!"

"It is only natural for you not to know this form since I have never been in 'body' when you ventured here in your Bankai. Tell me Ichigo, what is the name of your Bankai?"

"Tensa Zangetsu…? Good, you can talk some sense into the white guy! I need to learn The Final Getsuga Tensho to protect Karakura town!"

The black-cloaked being scoffed.

"You reject me all of this time and then wish for my aid? Forget it. I refuse."

Suddenly Ichigo felt a sharp pain in his gut.

The white Zangetsu had stabbed him in the stomach.

**"I ain't got to teach you shit, partner. I don't give a damn if all yer friends die. They ain't my problem. Karakura Town ain't my problem, ****_Ichigo_****. All I care about is us not dyin'."**

"How can you say that?! What happened to all that talk we had? What about that deal?! Was it all lies?!"

**"Our survival comes before any of that, I've told you that as well, Ichigo!"**

"You know if he does this he won't stop there, right? He'll start on our friends who aren't human next. They'll try to fight him. Nel. Renji. _Rukia._"

The white Zangetsu twisted his blade.

**"Don't try and blackmail me, ya bastard. I commend you fer doin' somethin' like that, totally unexpected, but don't try it. I'm just gonna hurt you more."**

"How is that blackmail!? It's the truth, Zangetsu! If I don't learn this then-!"

**"I said it doesn't matter! If you use the Final Getsuga Tensho… Do you know what will happen?"**

"I'll get strong enough to beat Aizen."

"All power comes with a price, Ichigo. Up to this point your power has come at a cosmetic price for the most part. However, the price of this technique is much more than that."

**"I'm feeling generous partner, so I'll tell you what happens: You'll lose all your Soul Reaper powers, and if you try to hollowify, well… That's what'll happen. Without yer soul reaper powers to keep em in check, yer hollow powers will eat you alive. You talk about protectin' your friends but if you use the Final Getsuga Tensho, then you'll be the thing they run from. If that doesn't happen you'll just be a boring, normal human with no power! You won't be able to protect your friends anymore!"**

Ichigo was shocked.

**"Do ya see now? We like existin'. We don't want to die. I guess you can call this a 'conflict of interests', Ichigo."**

"I don't have any other choice!"

Ichigo grabbed the blade in his stomach.

"And if I have to beat you until you agree, then so be it!"

The white Zangetsu narrowed his eyes.

**"I see. Then you'll have to fight your power."**

He withdrew his blade and he and the "Tensa Zangetsu" merged into one being.

"What the hell…?!"

A being in a white jacket with fur on it stood before him. It wore an inverted version of his horned mask on the back left half of its head and that eye was hollowified.

**"Both of us are your power. Here I come, ICHIGO!"**

The two crossed blades.

* * *

Ichigo appeared and looked at Aizen, his father over his shoulder.

He had achieved a state of complete calm. Fear no longer permeated his mind, concern no longer existing.

On top of that, he had discarded any hollow-like features.

He dropped his father to the ground and looked at his unconscious form.

"Thanks dad."

"Ichigo…?" Keigo managed. "That's Ichigo right? Why's his hair different? Isn't he a bit taller?"

"Good. It seems that Yuzu and Karin are safe. "

Ichigo looked over to the group of humans nearby.

"Tatsuki. Keigo. Mizuro. Chizuru. Kanonji…"

Ichigo paused looking at the afro-wearing soul reaper.

"Imoyama."

"Who's that?! It's Kurumadan! Zenosuke Kuramadan! If you don't know then just say you don't know! Don't try calling out people's names by intuition!"

"Everybody," Ichigo said, stopping him. "Stay there. Stay right like that, and don't move a muscle."

"The hell do you mean 'stay there', Ichigo…?" murmured Keigo.

'I don't feel anything…!' thought Tatsuki. 'From that weird guy I feel a power so great it crushes me, but from Ichigo… I don't feel a damn thing.'

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Are you truly Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo ignored Aizen and looked to Rangiku and Gin before looking back to Aizen.

"What do you mean?"

"If you are truly Ichigo Kurosaki then I am disappointed. I do not feel any Spiritual Pressure from you at all. Even if you have been surprising it, it is impossible that I would feel nothing at all. You have failed to evolve. You have let slip the final chance that I will give you."

Ichigo locked eyes with Gin for a moment before Aizen spoke again.

"How unfortunate, Ichigo Ku-!"

"Aizen. Let's go somewhere else. I don't wanna fight here in Karakura town."

"What a meaningless suggestion. Those words can only be spoken by one who has surpassed me. There is nothing to worry about. Defeating you will not requi-!"

Ichigo slammed his hand into Aizen's face and effortlessly pushed him back.

Ichigo then launched him into the ground a large distance away.

Ichigo landed near the point of impact.

"Let's get started, Aizen. I'm going to finish this in an instant."

"In an instant? I see. Now I understand, Ichigo Kurosaki. The reason why you no longer possess a Spiritual Pressure. It's not that you 'lost' it. You 'discarded' it. I do not know what kind of method you used, but you converted all of your Spiritual Pressure into physical strength. Raw arm strength, leg strength, grip strength, throwing strength, running strength… You discarded your Spiritual Pressure in order to dramatically increase all your body's capabilities, because you gave up on the idea of fighting me with a Spiritual Pressure. However, you should abandon your hope. I will show you that even this strength that you place all your faith in is far below that of my own."

Aizen's wings then spread.

'What the…?"

He vanished, prompting Ichigo to turn and block, a mountain shattering behind them.

"You blocked well, but you must be surprised; one swing of my sword and the landscape is altered. That is my current power. To be honest I did not think that my abilities had progressed so far. I am pleased, Ichigo Kurosaki; thanks to you I will fully be able to test this power which transcends both hollow and Soul Reaper."

Ichigo blocked a second time.

"Strangely enough, it seems we have both reached a similar form of evolution, ones where our Zanpaktos are fused with our right arms. Perhaps this is the true form of a Zanpakto. However, with this exchange of blows I have determined that our evolutions truly differ on a dimensional scale. Should I feel like it, I can shatter your sword with one swing!"

With a grin Aizen pulled his arm back, sung…

..and had his blade caught by Ichigo's free hand.

"Ridiculous…"

"Why're you so surprised? Is it that unbelievable that I blocked your sword? Does it scare you when things you don't understand happen right before your eyes?"

Aizen jumped away.

"You speak as though you've won. Your physical strength is momentarily exceeding my own, nothing more. Therefore, I will crush you into pieces using Kido so that such a miracle does not happen again!"

He raised a finger.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hado Number 90, Kurohitsugi!"

Ichigo watched calmly as the box appeared around him.

"A full-chant black coffin, brought forth by one who transcends both hollow and Soul Reaper! The torrent of gravity is so great that it warps time and space! The likes of you could never even hope to comprehend it!"

_Crash!_

The box shattered with a wave of Ichigo's arm.

"Seems like you haven't noticed it yet. My power is greater than yours. That mountain over there? It wasn't your sword that blew it away; it was mine."

Ichigo vanished and reappeared next to Aizen, slashing him across his chest.

Aizen promptly teleported away.

"When I put distance between us you asked me why. So now I'll ask you; why did you back off?"

The wound bubbled and healed.

"I see… Are you happy that you stopped my sword? Are you happy that you shattered my Kido? Are you happy that you wounded my body? DON'T GET SO FULL OF YOURSELF YOU DAMN HUMAN!"

Aizen roared and underwent yet another transformation.

"I see… So you won't allow it after all Hogyoku. You won't allow me to be weaker than a mere human."

One of the "heads" on one of his "wings" charged a ball of violet energy and fired it.

It erupted into a pillar of energy.

Ichigo blocked with his forearm. It was scorched but not enough to matter.

"I see. Taking that attack only did that to you? However, your left arm is most likely useless to you now."

Aizen charged Ichigo, grabbing him by the neck and hauling him backwards.

Ichigo was then bound by some new ability, with rings forming around him.

"Can you hear me, Ichigo Kurosaki? You did indeed momentarily become a transcendent being by obliterating the boundary between Soul Reaper and hollow. However, you have lost that power and are but a shadow of your former self. In your current state, you are not worthy of having me absorb and comprehend you. You will meet death at the hands of a transcendent being. Being obliterated by me will completely free you from your inferior existence as both a Soul Reaper and a hollow. This is the end, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"The end? Some shit like this is gonna end me?"

Ichigo swung his blade and cut away the rings, knocking Aizen back.

"I'm gonna put an end to this Aizen. I've had all I can take of your 'logic'. I'm gonna show you…"

Ichigo's arm began to burn black.

"The Final Getsuga Tensho."

He was engulfed in energy.

When it faded Aizen's eyes were wide.

"What is that form…!?"

"The Final Getsuga Tensho is becoming Getsuga itself. If I use this technique, I will lose all of my Soul Reaper powers. That is the meaning of 'Final'."

"RIDICULOUS! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE THAT A MERE HUMAN COULD SURPASS ME! THAT COULD NEVER-!?"

Ichigo reached out and a blade of energy appeared in his hand.

"Mugetsu."

* * *

Ichigo saw Aizen on the ground, mutated and scarred.

'He can still regenerate?'

Ichigo vanished and reappeared nearby… and felt his power suddenly leave him, falling to his knees.

'Shit… my Soul Reaper powers… are fading away…'

"You have lost, Ichigo Kurosaki. Behold: my Zanpakto is vanishing. Surely you of all people understand what this means. THE HOGYOKU HAS DEICDED I HAVE NO NEED FOR A ZANPAKTO! You became one with your Zanpakto and its powers and now I am the same! No, now that you have lost that power I will ascend to heights far above you! This is the end, Ichigo Kurosa-!"

Red lights appeared along his chest.

"What is this…?! Kido?! When did something like this..?!"

"It appears to have finally activated."

"KISUKE URAHARA! This is your doing?!"

"Yes. Before you achieved complete transfiguration, in your most unguarded moment, I fired that Kido into your body using another Kido. It's a seal. I thought that if you fused with the Hogyoku you would likely become all but impossible to kill, so I developed a new Kido for the purpose of sealing you away."

"I see… how unfortunate for you… Behold! I am right on the urge of achieving an even higher level of evolution! As if this pathetic Kido could seal me away!"

Suddenly the white on his arm- and his blade- shattered.

"What is this…?! My power… is fading away!?"

"That is the 'will of the Hogyoku'," informed Urahara. "The reason the seal I fired into you before has finally activated is because your power has weakened. The Hogyoku is saying it no longer recognizes you as its master."

"IMPOSSIBLE! That can't…!"

Crosses burst out of Aizen's back.

"KISUKE URARHARA! I despise you! You poses such a great intellect, why do you not act?! How are you able to let yourself be ruled by a THING like that?!"

"A thing? You mean the Soul King? So you've seen it. Without the Soul King, the entire Soul Society would fall apart. The Soul King is the Lynchpin. If that's lost, then everything would crumble away. That's just how the world is."

"Those are the words of the weak! The strong, the victors, must always speak of the way the world SHOULD be! I-!"

The seal finished.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.

"Ichigo."

"Where is everyone?"

"Ichigo you're alive!"

"gah-ow!"

Ichigo was again being crushed by Nel, who had come along to help with the movement of the sealed Aizen at Urahara's behest. However, she wasn't alone.

"You're gonna kill the kid."

"Yeah, knock it off! Ow!"

"Shut up, Lynette."

Nel realized what she'd done and let go, swiftly apologizing.

Ichigo assured her it was fine and turned to Stark.

"I didn't figure you'd stick around."

"Well I'm lazy, I couldn't be bothered to go all the way back to Hueco Mundo, so I'm staying with this guy since he and Nelliel are so strong."

"And because he'd get lo-!OW! STARRK!"

"I told you to shut up."

Ichigo nodded and looked back to Urahara.

"Everyone else went back. They seemed like they wanted to talk with you but it seemed to be equally difficult for them to approach you."

"Alright. I'll have to tell them everything when I get back."

"These two carried the seal off to Soul Society, with an escort of course. I'm sure Central 46 will deal with it."

"Yeah."

Ichigo frowned.

"Why the long face?"

"I'm not sure myself."

"You saved everyone and the world even by putting your life on the line and defeating Aizen."

"I know."

"You did the right thing. There's no reason for you to be wearing an expression like that."

"… Urahara. I wonder… Was Aizen really rejected by the Hogyoku? I heard from my dad that the Hogyoku's power is to read the 'hearts' of those around it and make it reality. If that's true, then I wonder if it's possible that Aizen wanted to lose his power. Once I had the power to fight Aizen as his equal, I came into contact with his sword. In it was nothing but 'isolation'. If he had incredible power ever since he was born, maybe he was looking for someone who looked at things the same way he did and from the moment he gave up on finding that… I wonder if somewhere in his heart he wished he could just be 'a normal soul reaper'."

"Ichigo…?"

Ichigo looked over and saw Orihime, Uryuu, Rukia, Chad and Renji.

"Orihime… Uryuu… Rukia… Chad… Renji… You guys are up and about already?"

Ichigo managed to stand.

"We could say the same thing about y-!" started Rukia, before she was interrupted.

"It…It's really you, Ichigo!" sobbed Orihime. "Y-your mask is gone too!"

Ichigo tried to fight off the saddened expression that briefly crossed his face but couldn't, although he tried to hide it quickly after.

"Is something wrong, Ichigo?" She asked.

"Nothing. I'm glad to see you and everyone else is alright."

Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair.

"Geez, my hair is a mess. I'm surprised that isn't the first thing you commented on. Hahah -!"

Suddenly Ichigo felt an intense pain and fell to his side, screaming bloody murder.

"Ichigo!"

* * *

**"This is it, partner."**

Ichigo was floating in a black void, parallel to the old white "him".

**"It's been a ride, hasn't it?"**

"Yeah… Look, Zangetsu, I'm-!"

**"Don't apologize. You've got nothin' to apologize for. You're everythin' I hoped you'd be. Ya had the strength to make the tough choice, the selfless one. All yer life you wanted power t' protect people and in th'end ya gave it up t' protect em. Bastard… Just one thing. Last request, so you gotta honor it."**

"What is it?"

The white Zangetsu floated over to Ichigo and whispered something into Ichigo's ear, causing his eyes to widen.

"I'll make sure the message is received."

**"Thanks partner… Goodbye Ichigo. Don't forget me, alright partner?"**

Ichigo let out a chuckle.

"I couldn't if I tried."

The white Zangetsu vanished into white cloth, completely disappearing.

Ichigo completely lost consciousness.

* * *

Ichigo's eyes shot open.

"Ichigo!"

"Orihime, everyone..?"

He sat up.

"I'm in my house..?"

"Yes. You've been asleep for almost a month now."

"A month… That's right, my power…"

"Ichigo… Urahara told me that you have lost your Soul Reaper powers."

"You heard huh? Guess I'm gonna have to give up being a Substitute Soul Reaper."

"The first stage is a loss of consciousness companied by intense pain. Then the physical effects of your time in the Precipice World are reversed. Your hair has gotten shorter, right? Well we didn't cut it. At that point you have lost your powers as a soul reaper. In the second stage, your remaining Spiritual Energy stabilizes and you awaken. Shortly thereafter, your remaining spiritual power will fade away."

"I figured as much."

"You aren't alarmed?"

"Nope. Somehow, I felt like that was the case. Can we go outside?"

The group exited the house and Rukia and Ichigo stood across from each other.

'I can't sense any spirits… Rukia's presence is fading away too now.'

"This is goodbye, Ichigo."

"Seems that way, doesn't it?"

"Don't look so sad. Even if you can no longer see me, I can still see you."

Ichigo walked over to her.

"Zangetsu left me with a parting message from him to you," Ichigo said under his breath before whispering something into her ear that caused her to jump with surprise.

"Tell everybody else I said hi."

"Sure."

Ichigo watched her fade away.

"Later Rukia."

She was gone.

"Thank you."

"Ichigo, what exactly did you tell her?"

Ichigo chuckled.

"A message from a friend."

* * *

Ichigo had never been good at any sorts of arts or crafts himself. Better than Rukia yes, but not anything superb.

Still, with some research and the right tools he'd carved a very rough approximation of his old mask and painted it before converting the trinket into something he could attach to his phone.

He made a promise not to forget Zangetsu, and he intended to keep it.

It was slightly stylized compared to the genuine article, but it worked and was inconspicuous enough not to make people ask questions.

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the delayed post. I have no good excuse, I've had time but I've spent it playing Fallout New Vegas with Tale of Two Wastelands and Fallout Who Vegas. Still, I'll be sure to proof Chapter 13 and get it up sometime between this Saturday and Monday of next week. Hope you enjoy the story.


	13. Square One

Chapter 13

Square One

"Big brother! It's morning, time to get up!"

_Ichigo Kurosaki, Age: 17_

'So sleepy…' Ichigo grumbled.

_Hair color: Orange_

_Eye color: brown_

_Profession: High School Student_

_He _cannot _see spirits._

Except in his dreams.

In his dreams he speaks to a spirit he knew very well, one who fought alongside him in several battles. One who looked very similar to him. However, he couldn't quite remember its name.

They would speak as if they were still together, still a team.

As if the spirit still existed.

But Ichigo knew better; he had lost all his spiritual power that day a year and a half ago.

They were nothing more than dreams.

But they were the best dreams.

"Ta daaa!"

Ichigo looked through the doorway at his sister.

"Oh. Guess today is your school entrance ceremony."

Ichigo sat down at the table and looked to his other sister.

"Karin pass the soy sauce."

Yuzu slammed the bottle on the table.

"Here's your soy sauce!" she said with a dark expression on her face.

"What're you so upset about Yuzu?"

"I'm not upset! It's just that I went through all the trouble of not showing you my uniform until the day of my school entrance ceremony and you won't even look at it! But I don't care! Cause I'm not gonna give you the burnt part of the rice…"

"Your zipper's open," Ichigo said casually as he put the soy sauce on his food.

"Kyah!"

"See? I was looking."

"Stupid! My brother's a pervert!"

Ichigo noticed Karin react to something.

"What's up, Karin?"

"Nothing."

"Yuzuuuuuuu!"

Isshin appeared in a suit.

"Hey, take a look Yuzu! What do you think of this suit? Which looks better, a normal tie or a bow tie?!"

"I don't think it really matters…"

"It doesn't matter?!"

'It's been 17 months since that fight,' Ichigo thought. 'Right around then Karin's power started getting stronger…'

Ichigo mused about the events of the past year and a half more as he walked to school, catching Keigo in a chokehold as the teen greeted him.

"Mornin'."

"I'm off," said Mizuro.

"Alright, see you at lunch then," Ichigo replied.

Ichigo released Keigo who was struggling and entered the room.

"Ichigo! Did you bring Tekken? The new one's coming out so I need to get that one back soon."

"Yeah Tatsuki, I've got it."

Ichigo opened his bag and saw something in a pouch:

His combat pass.

"What? Did you forget it?!"

Tatsuki shoved over to him.

"Shut up, I've got it right here, see?"

He held the game up to her.

'I guess I forgot to give it back.'

Ichigo sat and observed the wooden object.

'It's just a normal piece of wood since the invisibility barrier vanished and the hollow alarm stopped going off… It's all I have left that reminds me I used to be a Soul Reaper.'

"HEY! Where are you going Ishida!?" yelled Ichigo's teacher.

"To the Nurse's office!" replied Uryuu.

"I hope he doesn't overdo it and get Soul Society pissed off at him," Ichigo mumbled.

* * *

"Have you decided what you're gonna do about the future?" asked Keigo.

"You mean like college or a career or whatever?"

"Or whatever?! What other choices are there?"

"I've still got time. We've got career counseling at the end of the semester, so I don't have to think about it just yet, right?"

"Ichigo, you had good grades when you started school but they've been dropping since about a year and a half ago."

"Shut up, I couldn't do anything about it cause I had a lot of shit going on back then. Besides, I'm still in the upper half of the class."

"I wonder what Rukia's up to?"

"What made her suddenly pop into your head?" Ichigo asked warily.

"Well it'd be nice if she stopped by and said 'hi' once in a while, wouldn't it? She hasn't shown her face once since all that happened. That's kinda cold, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't. First of all, she's not even in charge of Karakura Town, so it's normal for her not to stop by," explained Ichigo.

"You don't miss her?"

"There's no reason to," Ichigo replied. "After 16 years I've finally gotten a normal life. I'm fine with living out the rest of my life in peace."

"I guess that's true. I don't wanna go through anything scary like that again either."

'I always did long for a life where I couldn't see spirits. Now I've got what I wanted.'

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"

Ichigo, Keigo, and Mizuro were walking home when a man in a hood came barreling past them with a bag in his clutches.

"Hey stop! Give me back my bag, asshole!"

Another man ran past the two of them.

"Mizuro," Ichigo said tossing his friend his bag. "hold onto this."

Ichigo turned and sped at the thief.

He caught up, grabbed his shoulder and punched him in the face, sending him toppling over.

The man pulled a knife which Ichigo caught between his fingers before hitting the thief again.

Ichigo took the bag and returned it to its owner.

"Shit man, that was awesome! Thanks! You're hungry, right? I'll treat you to some ramen or something, how about it?"

"No thanks," replied Ichigo. "And don't tell anybody I punched someone since it'd be a pain in the ass if they got pissed off at me later."

"Uh… Okay… I see, that's too bad. "

* * *

Ichigo lied down in bed and closed his eyes.

Just before he fell asleep he heard a very familiar voice.

**"They ain't just dreams… partner."**

* * *

**"Rise and shine, Ichigo…"**

Ichigo saw a familiar silhouette before shooting awake just in time to make his father fall out the window.

"Are you stupid?! Are you?! What would've happened if I fell?! What would've happened if I died?!"

"Hell if I know. If you died you'd go to Soul Society, right?" Ichigo replied.

"Nice comeback…"

Ichigo turned and pulled his father's fingers on one hand up from the windowsill.

"Besides, you wouldn't die from falling from the second floor. And I had a weird dream because of you, so apologize by falling down now."

"WahhhH! Stop it, I'm really gonna fall!"

His father's expression changed.

"A weird dream? What was it like?"

"Trying to talk about it made me forget."

* * *

Ichigo found himself toying with his badge again during class the next day.

Suddenly he heard what seemed like a whisper from nowhere:

**"…chi…he…me?"**

He recognized that voice, but couldn't put a finger on it and decided to chalk it up as his imagination.

* * *

"Ichigo! Tatsuki!"

Ichigo looked up at the window Orihime was looking out from.

"Hey Orihi…"

She grabbed a pipe and slid down it.

"You're gonna fall!" yelled Ichigo

"Your underwear's showing!" yelled Tatsuki.

Orihime attempted to reach Ichigo but got hit over the head by Tatsuki instead.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"Of course it did! Do something dangerous like that again and I'll hit you even harder!"

"Even harder?! You'll split my head open!"

"You don't have to get so pissed at her you know, it's not like she got hurt or anything," Ichigo said.

"Can it! You don't have any business going on a tirade about how I educate Orihime!"

"I'm not going on a tirade! I just feel bad for her is all."

"And that's what I meant!"

"Hey guys! There's something I wanted to talk to you about!"

"Huh?" Ichigo and Tatsuki responded.

Orihime went into a confusing speech about something that seemed rather pointless before asking them their opinions on comedian groups.

"Ah that's right, I don't have time for this!" said Tatsuki, checking her watch.

"What's up, Tatsuki?" asked Orihime.

"I've got work! You do too, right Orihime? Get a move on!"

* * *

"You want two specials!? We're not an Eel Restaurant you idiot!"

Ichigo frowned as his boss yelled at someone over the phone, him being tied up.

"Huh?! Wadda ya mean I said 'Unagi Shop'?! That's the name of our business, dumbass!"

"I've said it a thousand times, you should really change the name," Ichigo pointed out.

"What?! You're telling me to change the precious name that has been passed down through generations of my family?! Not a chance!"

"That's not what I meant; I'm not telling you to change your name lady, I'm telling you to change the name of the business…"

"Either way, not a chance in hell! And don't call me 'lady', call me Missus Ikumi! Here, look at these jobs! Kondou in Mashiba District 2 wants us to look after his pet rabbit! Fukushima in district 6 wants us to take care of her mouse-themed merchandise! Yamashita in Minamikawase district 1 wants us to tidy up his yard! And there's more! All piled up while you were busy skipping work!"

"What the hell?! You can do all that yourself!"

"I've got my own things to take care of! Why do you think I hired you?"

"Mommyyyyyy, where are youuuu?" came a voice from the other room.

"Oh shit."

Ikumi swiftly changed clothes in a flash, her gloves landing on Ichigo's face.

"I'm hungryyyy," whined a child.

"Aww, are you alright Kaoru?" asked the woman in a motherly voice.

The two talked for a moment before the kid noticed Ichigo.

"Ah! It's Kuro-dummy! What're you doing here?! Don't go getting all cozy with my mommy just cause' she's a babe!"

The kid pulled his lower eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at Ichigo.

"Okay, okay now go on over there, I'll come soon!" instructed Ichigo's boss.

Ichigo had a deadpan expression on his face.

After the kid left Ikumi turned to look at Ichigo, removing the apron she'd put on.

"Sorry about that, it seems that he just can't get used to you now, no matter how much time passes. I'm sure you have a lot of things you'd like to say, but just keep them to yourself, for his sake."

"Things I'd like to say…? Like how I'm not interested in an old lad-!"

He took a thick book to the head for his comment.

"That hurt! I only said it because you said that stuff about me like having things I'd like to say!"

"I never told you to say them did I?! I told you to keep them to yourself! I'm gonna take the tape off, so get your ass to work!"

Suddenly the bell over the door rang as someone entered the shop.

Ichigo was swiftly forgotten as the customer entered the shop.

"Welcome…"

Ichigo removed the tape completely, his boss having loosened it.

"You! You're that guy from the other day…!"

The man removed a cloth from something in his hand revealing a bowl of ramen.

"How about some ramen?"

"No thanks," said Ichigo. "We're an Eel restaurant."

"The hell we are!"

The man sat down and put the bowl on a table, cracking some chopsticks in half.

"Let's eat."

"Hey."

The man ignored Ichigo and ate his food.

"I said hey!"

The man continued to ignore him.

"I SAID HEY DAMMIT! WHY'RE YOU EATING YOUR RAMEN HERE?!"

"Well _you're _not gonna eat it; if I don't eat it then It'll get stale, right?"

"So eat it at your place! Why did you come here?! This isn't your personal rest stop, it's MINE!"

"Have you been coming here with the mindset that this place is a rest stop?" murmured Ichigo's boss.

"Still, Ichigo has a point. What do you want? Are you a client?"

"Of course I am," The man answered. "So bring me some Oolong tea please."

"Is Suntory alright?" asked Ichigo's boss.

"You're actually gonna give it to him?" asked Ichigo.

The woman left and returned with a bottle of tea and handed it to the man.

"So what do you want with me?" asked Ichigo.

"What a strange thing to say. I don't want anything from you. It's a coincidence that I entered this office. I was looking for a business that would take on a real bitch of a job ,and this store's sign just happened to catch my eye. When I came in, you were there. Just a coincidence."

"Oh really? So it's a coincidence that you had ramen with you?"

"Give it a rest; I just like ramen."

"If you're gonna carry it around with you just cause you like it then I'm gonna carry chocolate around with me."

"You like chocolate? How cute."

"Don't try to change the subject. "

"Well I can see this isn't going anywhere. I didn't come here to argue with you. Is that chick the boss?"

"Yes I am!"

"Mind if I tell you about my job? I'd like you to personally investigate someone."

The man put a picture on the table.

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"His name is-!"

"Isshin Kurosaki," Ichigo finished.

"What? You know him?"

"Are you trying to mess with me? He's my dad! If there's something you wanna know about him then just ask me! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"

"He's your dad? Now _that's _a coincidence."

"What?"

"But you''ll tell me 'whatever I want to know'? Do you really know enough to be able to answer my questions? You probably still don't even know a damn thing about your own family."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said; I don't think I said anything hard to follow. I asked you: just how much do you know about your own family. Don't you wanna know about that-!"

A hand slammed onto the picture.

"Alright, I'll hold onto the picture for now," said Ichigo's boss. "We're closing up for the day, time for you to go."

"Hey now, that's pretty sudden. So I can assume you'll take the job then?"

"I'll contact you about that after I've thought it over," Ikumi replied.

"I see. IN that case, I'll leave my contact information."

The man left information with Ikumi and turned to leave.

"Ichigo, you should head over to the Urahara shop. You might see something interesting."

With that the man left.

* * *

Ichigo silently observed Karin running away from the Urahara shop.

"Karin… what are you doing at Urahara's shop?"

"Concerned? That's understandable. After all, your little sister keeps visiting a shady character."

Ichigo turned; the man from before was behind him.

"He's not a 'shady character', Urahara-!"

"'Rescued us'? Just how much have you learned to make you feel like you have this Urahara guy all figured out? I'm warning you: act while you can if you want to protect your family."

Ichigo looked away.

"Give me a name. Your name."

"Ginjou. Ginjou Kuugo."

"Don't get the wrong idea; this doesn't mean that I trust you yet."

"Of course not. Alright, then I'll just give you this."

He handed Ichigo a plastic card and walked off.

Ichigo decided while he was here he might as well pay Nel a visit. They didn't talk as much, but occasionally he'd drop in and visit, usually whilst dodging having to go to work.

He opened the door to the shop.

"Yo."

"Ichigo!"

Nel next to tackled Ichigo, as was her standard greeting which Ichigo had adapted to at this point.

"How's it going?"

He looked behind her and noticed Starrk propped against the wall reading some book, in a Gigai of his own similar to Nel's. He wore a brown leather jacket with gray fur on the collar and upper chest along with a white undershirt with a "1" printed on it and some jeans with boots.

Lynette was sitting eating a bag of some sort of candy.

"It's going well, thank you for asking! Any special reason why you're here?"

"Nah, just dropping by to say hello. I should get going; if I'm late getting home Yuzu will get worried. Glad to see you're all doing well though."

Ichigo turned and left.

* * *

"You felt it too, right Nelliel?" Starrk asked.

"Felt what?"

"You know what I mean. After he lost his power I couldn't feel anything from the kid. Now I feel something. It's odd is all. Troublesome."

"Now that you mention it, I did feel something. He shouldn't have any spiritual energy to feel though…"

"I'm not gonna worry about it. Like I said, it sounds like trouble I don't want to get involved in."

Starrk looked to Lynette.

"If you keep eating like that you're going to get fat," he commented.

"Shut up Starrk! If you keep sitting around like that you're gonna get fat!"

* * *

"Welcome home Ichigo!"

Yuzu held up a sheet of paper.

"It's the skills test they gave us right after we started school! I got a 95! That's pretty good, right!?"

Ichigo pulled her into a pseudo hug and patted her head.

"That's pretty good Yuzu! Nice job! Show that one to dad! He'll be thrilled! Speaking of him, where'd he go?" Ichigo asked, releasing his sister.

"I don't know, it looks like he's been gone since this morning."

"Oh, I see. Well I'll be in my room."

"Oh. Ichigo…"

"Hm? What's up Yuzu?"

"It's nothing, never mind."

Ichigo went up to his room and tossed his bag on his bed.

"Where the hell did that bastard go?"

Ichigo frowned.

'It's times like this I wish I had my Soul Reaper powers. Then I could follow his Spiritual Pressure."

His eyes widened for a moment.

"What am I thinking? I guess I haven't totally gotten over it yet."

"Ichigo! Heyyyy Ichigo! "

Ichigo stuck his head out the window.

"Betcha could use some bread! I'll give it to you cheap!"

Orihime was standing on the street with a basket of sorts with different breads in it.

Ichigo went down and let her in, instructing her to go up to his room while he got some tea.

Ichigo sighed when he entered the room.

"We can't eat all of this."

"I guess you couldn't…"

"Yeah, there's only four people in our family!"

Ichigo chuckled a bit.

"Was nice of you to think of us though. I'll take some since you were kind enough to bring it over."

Ichigo noticed she was a bit restless.

"Why're you fidgeting so much?"

"Um.. well… I didn't think you'd bring me up to your room…"

"What're you talking about? It's not like this is your first time coming up here. Your boss gives you this discarded bead out of kindness, right?"

"It's not discarded, it was unsold!"

Orihime took a bite from her bread.

"Same thing."

"Nuh-uh! The feeling is different."

"Hey Ichigo, did something happen recently?"

"Not really, why are you asking?"

"Huh? A hunch I guess!"

"A hunch?"

"Yeah… how can I put it…? I was wondering if you were in some kind of trouble… like being followed around by a weirdo or something…"

"Me? Being followed around? I'd understand if you had said 'gotten caught up in something' but you seem to get followed around a lot more than I do."

"No I don't! I see! I guess I was mistaken! Sorry, I went and got the wrong idea and started worrying about you…"

"Nothing wrong with that, it's part of who you are and it's not a bad thing. Thanks for being concerned."

Ichigo paused.

"Actually, there was one thing I thought was weird. Well… you don't mind if I ramble a bit, do you?"

"N-not at all! What's wrong?"

"I wouldn't call it 'wrong' per say… It's just… Do you know anything about reoccurring dreams?"

"Those are dreams that keep happening over and over, right?"

"Yeah. I've had them for a month or so now. I talk with a voice that I can't quite place but that I feel like I should know very well…"

Ichigo noticed his cell phone on his desk and noted the trinket on it.

"Ichigo?"

"Oh, right! Yeah, we talk in those dreams. The thing is, I was in class the other day and I found my old Combat Pass. I was kind of holding it, looking it over, when suddenly I heard a voice. It was that same voice, but it was in fragments, like I couldn't hear everything they were saying. I wonder if I'm just going crazy or something?"

Ichigo sighed.

"Thanks for listening. I'll go get that manga I borrowed from you the other day."

"That's okay, you don't have to rush!"

Ichigo fetched the book and handed it to Orihime.

"Here."

"Thanks, Ichigo."

The two munched bread in silence before Ichigo heard one solitary word in his head, the voice he'd heard before.

**"Partner"**

He shook his head.

"What's wrong Ichigo?"

"I recognize that voice…"

"What are you talking about?"

"I…Heard that voice again."

Ichigo reached over and got his phone, looking at the mask trinket that hung off the end.

'Could it be…? But I lost my Soul Reaper powers… He shouldn't exist!'

"Ichigo?"

"I recognize the voice. It's Zangetsu's."

The name rolled off his tongue like second nature.

Almost instinctively.

"Huh?! But Ichigo didn't you… you know…?"

"I did. But Zangetsu wasn't a normal Zanpakto. He was part hollow. Orihime, I'm going out on a limb here, but what if he survived in that part? He mentioned not being able to lend me power after I used the Final Getsuga Tensho because if he did I'd become a hollow… Does that mean… Could he be there but just unable to contact me normally because of that?"

"I don't know, we'd probably have to ask Urahara…"

"I don't know. If I hear him again I'll ask Urahara, but I'd rather not get involved with him again if I don't have to. On top of that… I do miss Zangetsu's company, but I've finally got a normal life now. It's what I've wanted since the beginning, and now I have it."

Ichigo sighed.

"Well, take whatever bread you like. No offense, but I have homework to do and as you might know my grades have been slipping. Keigo and I had a talk that made me realize I should probably work on that some. It was nice having you over though, thanks for the bread."

"O-oh! Alright! No problem, Ichigo!"

* * *

Ichigo threw open the door to the hospital room.

"Uryuu!"

Ichigo noticed Orihime.

"Orihime! You're already here. What about Chad?"

"I told you, he didn't pick up. I think he's still at work given the time…"

"You even called Ichigo?" came a voice from the other side of a sheet. "Honestly… you're always taking things too far…"

"Uryuu…"

"Taking things too far?" came a voice from behind Ichigo. "At least your mouth is fully functional, that never changes."

'That's…!'

Ichigo's mind went back to when he went to save Uryuu from a strange hollow long ago.

'The guy who was there with Uryuu!'

"Besides, I'm not supposed to have any visitors," noted Uryuu. "What do you plan to do if my wounds worsen because you kept letting people barge in here?"

"Are you stupid? Who do you think performed the surgery? As if something minor like this would aggravate your injuries. Novices who get slashed by their enemies and nearly die shouldn't be telling their doctor to 'do this' or 'don't do that'."

"Slashed..? What's he talking about Uryuu?"

"It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't! You got your ass kicked! If you couldn't do anything by yourself then we have to work together, right?!"

Silence.

"SAY SOMETHING!"

"It's important to share information," said Uryuu's father. "Do you intend to waste the kindness I've shown you?

"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"That was a close call; raise your voice another 5 hertz and you'll tear your stitches."

"Uryuu…" started Orihime.

"Sorry Orihime. I really can't' tell you anything right now, could you please go home?"

"…Okay."

Ichigo had a frustrated look on his face.

"Ichigo…?"

His expression changed and he looked over to Orihime.

"Hey! It must be hard for you to be out so late. I'll walk you home."

"Wha? I mean umm… really?"

The older man put a hand on Orihime's shoulder.

"I'll take her home in my car. You should hurry home yourself. I think your father would raise hell if I were to let you run around until all hours of the night."

"All right. Thank you."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and turned, running.

'If that is Zangetsu… if this is happening to my friends…'

Ichigo knew what he might have to do to save his friends.

But first he needed to find out who and why.

"Ichigo! See you at school tomorrow!" yelled Orihime.

Ichigo finally stopped at a power pole.

"Dammit… something's going on behind my back! Zangetsu… if you're there… I need your guidance…"

No reply.

"Dammit! Isn't there something I can do?!"

Ichigo frowned and opened his phone, calling the number he'd been given by Ginjou.

After a bit of phone tag he finally got Ginjou.

"That was a real pain in the ass," Ichigo said.

"Oh put a sock in it. It'd be a pain in the ass for me if I didn't do that."

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

"I'm sure there is. Otherwise you wouldn't be calling me, right?"

* * *

"Ichigo!"

After school the next day Orihime stuck her head out the window of a classroom.

"Do you know anything about Chad?"

"That's a pretty broad question Do I know anything about what?"

"His condition!"

"Did he catch a cold or something?"

Orihime hopped out of the window.

"Oh, I guess you don't know anything either. I went by his class thinking I'd tell him about what happened to Uryuu yesterday, but it looks like Chad hasn't been to school lately. I thought you might know something about it but I guess you don't. I was thinking about taking a get-well present to his apartment today. U-um, you're welcome to come with me if you'd like!"

"Sorry, I can't. You'll have to be there for me too, in spirit. I have something important I have to take care of."

"O-okay. I'll go and report to you on his condition!"

"Thanks."

'Did something happen to Chad too? What the hell is going on?'

* * *

That night Ichigo walked down the streets.

"District 7…7…1…"

He looked up.

"A derelict apartment building? I guess this is the place."

"Yo."

Ichigo turned.

"5 minutes early huh? How professional."

"It's not five minutes, it's three."

"So? What'd you want to talk to me about?"

"A buddy of mine got his ass kicked."

"And?"

"I want you to give me a hand."

"Searching for the culprit? But I thought you didn't trust me."

"You know about me and my dad, so you're probably not a normal human."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"It's not that I trust you, but I don't have anyone else to turn to."

"Alright. Follow me."

The two entered the structure and got on an elevator.

"Truthfully I'd like to ask you to put this off until after you've taken care of my request," Said Ganjou.

"You mean that thing with my dad? I haven't seen him since then but I'm sure I can look into-!"

"It was a joke. You don't have to look into it, that was just to pique your curiosity."

"A ruse…?"

"We're here. Swipe your card."

Ichigo did as instructed.

The room was somewhat dark with a bar on the right.

On the left a boy sat on a table with blonde hair in all black.

The bartender had an eyepatch and wore formal clothing.

In the back on a couch was a dark skinned woman in a jacket and khakis.

"Why's it so big in here?" Ichigo asked.

"We knocked down the walls of 5 apartments and took out the floors of 3. We have some members with some money. So… let's get down to business. Let me tell you about our objective first."

"Your objective?"

"Yeah, our reason for getting close to you… our objective… Is to get you your Soul Reaper powers back."

"What?!"

"It's not like you didn't hear me, right? I said that our objective is to reclaim your Soul Reaper powers."

"How are you gonna do that?! Better yet, why would you do that for me? Just what are you after? Who the hell are you guys?!"

Ichigo grabbed the man's jacket, and the man grabbed his wrists in turn, removing Ichigo's hands.

"There's no way I can answer all of that at once, so have a seat. The night is long, so I'm gonna give you the story nice and slow. Want something to drink?"

Ichigo frowned and looked at the man.

"What's with the look? I can't give a kid alcohol. You don't drink anyway, right? Seems like you're more upright than you look. Ask for anything; there's no menu but we've got most everything."

"No thanks, I'm not thirsty."

"Bring him an orange juice," said Ganjou to the bartender.

"Yes sir."

Soon the bartender arrived with a glass full of juice and set it in front of Ichigo.

"We… are humans." Of course we're not just 'normal' like you said. We're humans who were born possessing a special innate ability."

"A special ability…?"

"It'd be faster to show you."

The man held his hand over his drink and it began to glow, the liquid moving on its own, out of the cup and into the man's mouth.

"What I did there was draw out the 'soul' of the alcohol in the glass and make it assist me in drinking the alcohol."

"Huh?"

"our ability is to draw out and utilize the 'soul' that resides in all matter."

'What…?'

"That look on your face says you don't get it. Did you think that only living things had souls? Every single thing in this world has a soul, not just plants and animals. The size of the soul may be small, but everything has one whether it's a telephone pole, a chair, or a drinking glass. Ever felt like you can exhibit a higher-than-normal level of ability when you're using a tool that you're used to? That means you understand the 'soul' of that tool. The souls in things are inherently endowed with the power to help the person using them. Our ability can enhance that power by drawing it out and boosting it with our souls. We can jump higher by drawing out the soul of the asphalt and supplementing its elasticity. We can make liquids plunge into our mouths like you saw just now, or we can make water support our feet and stand on top of it. Also, if we've got an affinity with the tool and are used to using it we can even change its very shape. For instance, in my case where it's this necklace, watch."

The necklace turned into a huge blade.

"What…?"

"Kinda like this. We call this ability 'fullbring'."

Suddenly the door burst open.

"I'm back!"

"Riruka. You're back sooner than I thought you'd be. Did you find him?"

"Yeah I found him! Hey that shiny thing is a sword, right? Why'd you bring that out, are you stupid?! And it's dark! Increase the light now! I can't see anything!"

"I don't plan on increasing the light. Put your glasses on."

"I hate wearing glasses but I hate wearing contacts more! I've got big eyes so contacts dry them out really fast!"

"I'm not listening!"

"The hell, acting like you're the boss… Hey! Get in here!"

"Okay."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Wha… Chad?!"

"Ichigo?"

* * *

A/N: I'm making it a bad habit of adding these. Sorry for the delay, but life needs me more. On top of that, I'm thinking about what to do with this story. Something you all might like to hear is I intend to add a completely original story arc between the Fullbring and Thousand year arcs, so that's part of the delay; I need to plan that out. A warning; if you dislike OCs then you might not fancy this arc, it's going to feature OCs. I won't go into the details, but you have been warned. Also because this won't have any plot grounding in the canon bleach story bar the characters and setting combined with life the chapters will be coming out even slower unfortunately. Still, that's a sacrifice that must be made for the sake of the story. I've got the overall basics of the plot down and I'm working on the characters now, so yeah.


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